THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday scored the regular release of reports on the positivity rates of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), saying it is causing undue panic and mental stress to communities.
In a press conference, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire did not name any specific agency but appealed to those behind the release of the reports to be more responsible in giving COVID-19 updates to the public.
“We are appealing to our partners in reporting to the public to be more critical in their analysis, especially if these will affect the economy and the mental health of the people,” said Vergeire.
“They mislead the people. It causes panic. So, we appeal to them, when you give out information to the public, be more responsible because people are panicking,” she added.
The health official cited as an example the recent report on the positivity rate in Aklan being “very high” at 56.9 percent.
“People are panicking in Aklan. It may also prevent tourists from going to Aklan because of these reports,” Vergeire said.
Vergeire explained that the very high positivity rate in Aklan was only based on the COVID-19 tests done on 62 individuals, with 37 testing positive.
She also said the positivity rates do not provide disaggregated data on whether the cases are severe, critical, mild, or moderate.
She added that the positivity rates only include those from RT-PCR tests, but not antigen test results.
“We can see how skewed the positivity rates are when we use them as the indicator,” said the acting DOH chief.
The independent OCTA Research has been regularly providing positivity rate data in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other major provinces. It was the source of the report on Aklan’s very high positivity rate last week.
In a previous televised public briefing, OCTA fellow Guido David admitted that the positivity rate does not provide the whole picture of the COVID-19 trend.
However, he explained that they are still reporting the positivity rates in a bid to provide the public with any available vital information regarding COVID-19 infection.
“The positivity rate is just one indicator to guide us as it shows infections are on the rise. At least we are informed that, yes, infections are increasing,” David explained in a previous interview.
“For people to have personal responsibility, the best we can do is to arm them with information, whatever it is that we have,” he added.
Instead of relying on positivity rates, the DOH said it would be best if the healthcare utilization rate and hospital admissions will be used as basis in evaluating the COVID-19 situation.
“For us to see the entire COVID-19 picture that is affecting us right now, we should look at healthcare utilization. As long as our healthcare system is preserved, we are okay. This is why we are trying to shift the mindset of the people now,” Vergeire said.
“We have a lot of spaces in our hospitals based on the reports of our hospitals. We are still at low healthcare utilization,” she added.
MASK MANDATE
Given the low healthcare utilization, Vergeire said the national government still does not see the need to revive the mandatory masking policy against COVID-19.
This, she said, is despite some local government units (LGUs) reimposing the mask mandate amid the rising number of COVID-19.
“We don’t see the need yet given our current situation now. We don’t see the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) recommending higher restrictions, such as masking,” said Vergeire.
She, however, said they believe that LGUs should already be empowered to impose their respective COVID-19 restrictions.
“We are already in that direction of capacitating LGUs, establishments, schools to assess their respective risks, impose and lift their restrictions as long as they are rational, necessary, and aligned with our protocols,” said Vergeire.
To note, the mask mandate has already been revived in Baguio City, Manila City Hall, and Iloilo City Hall, among others.
In a related development, the DOH said they have already submitted to Malacañang the recommendations of the IATF-EID regarding the lifting of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Vergeire, however, said they still cannot give details of their recommendations until President Marcos Jr. has reached a decision.
Recently, the WHO lifted the PHEIC status, which was imposed back on January 30, 2020.
The State of Public Health Emergency in the Philippines, though, remains in effect.
The Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (QCESU) yesterday urged city residents to report if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or if they came in contact with people who tested positive of the disease as it expressed concern over an increase in infections and positivity rate in the city during the period May 8 to 14.
QCESU chief Dr. Rolly Cruz said: “We highly encourage our people to continue reporting cases so we can effectively reach out to them and provide necessary assistance. This collaborative effort will help us mitigate the spread of the virus and further reduce the number of cases.”
Cruz also urged residents experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever, coughs, and runny nose to isolate for five days and refrain leaving their homes or going to their workplaces.
He said they should contact QCESU to avail of free COVID-19 testing and for contract tracing purposes.
Cruz also encouraged residents to always wear a face mask when they are in indoor establishments or in crowded areas to reduce the possibility of contracting COVID-19.
“We urge our QCitizens to make informed decisions regarding face masks. While the current national policy allows voluntary usage of face masks in indoor and outdoor spaces, we continue to advise the public to wear masks, especially in crowded areas where the risk of virus transmission is high,” said Cruz.
QCESU data showed a significant increase in COVID-19 cases – 1,057 cases covering May 8 to 14 compared to 810 cases covering the period of May 1 to 7.
Also, the positivity rate has also risen to 29.9 percent, from 26.2 percent, during the same period.
Cruz said that despite the rise in COVID-19 cases in the city, the occupancy of COVID-19 hospital beds remains relatively low at 35.5 percent in Quezon City.
QCESU also said three QC-owned hospitals reported few patients with severe and critical COVID-19 illness. — With Victor Reyes
