Lawmaker says DOH using week-old COVID-19 figures

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THE Department of Health is feeding the public inaccurate figures on the country’s COVID-19 cases by using data that are at least one week old, an official of the House of Representatives said Tuesday.

Deputy majority leader Bernadette Herrera-Dy said the data anomaly is obvious in the discrepancy between the “official” number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the total of cases already listed as “positive.”

“The government cannot claim that the curve is being flattened without seeing the actual picture and tackling the backlog in validating COVID-19 cases,” the lawmaker said.

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She pointed out that based on figures released on the DOH website, there are 26,420 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines as of June 15, 2020.

However, she said the number was not up-to-date update because as of June 13, 2020, the positive individuals listed by testing centers have already reached 32,728, meaning there are around 6,000 yet to be “confirmed.”

Herrera-Dy urged the DOH to move faster on addressing its COVID-19 test validation backlog in order to get a more accurate picture of the pandemic and help economic and medical professionals respond proportionately.

She said delays in the validation process means “official numbers” being announced by the DOH reflect cases from “five to eight days earlier.”

“The five days lag time in confirmed tests could mean hundreds or even thousands of additional cases exist more than are being reported,” she said.

The lawmaker appealed to the DOH to address the backlog of confirmed cases as against positive individuals listed by testing centers, noting that the variance between the two numbers is a serious cause for concern as most of the country has been placed under the more relaxed general community quarantine.

She noted that timely assessment and validation of data is instrumental in the formulation of policies by the national and local government.

“There is no way the DOH can provide us a more accurate data on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country if it will not immediately address the gap of confirmed cases versus positive individuals listed by testing centers,” she warned.

DOH ‘INCOMPETENCE’

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said there seems to be no end in sight to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country three months after the government launched a massive campaign to fight the virus due to the incompetence of the DOH.

“Seems no solution and end in sight mainly because of incompetence,” Lacson said in a text message to reporters when asked to assess the government’s response against the deadly virus in the last three months.

Lacson said there are three “important peripheral issues” the DOH must achieve to have a successful COVID-19 response — the ability of the DOH to conduct mass testing, accurate and timely reporting of test results, and basing its sound decision on accurate information.
“Sad to say, this is not the case,” Lacson lamented.

Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan also expressed his frustration with the way government is fighting the virus, noting it has been three months and we have not yet reached the targeted number of daily mass testing.

“We have yet to reach the targeted number of mass testing. The results of the testing are still not on time,” Pangilinan said, adding: “Even the allegation of overpricing [in purchases of medical supplies and services] and corruption are tolerated that’s why I am not surprised that we have one of the most numbers of fatalities and one of the lowest recovery rates in the Asean region.”

Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon welcomed President Duterte’s decision to keep Metro Manila and other key areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) status due to the “upward trend in the number of confirmed cases each day.”

Drilon, however, said there is a need for government to review its response programs if the upward trend in COVID-19 cases continues.

“If this upward trend continues, it behooves the government to pause and recalibrate its strategies. Take a second look and ask: Are we winning the war against COVID-19 pandemic? Are the three Ts (testing, tracing, and treatment) being implemented? Where are we lacking? We cannot and should never let our guard down against this virus,” Drilon said.

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Last April, 14 senators passed a resolution calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III due to failure of leadership in handling the country’s response to COVID-19. The call was rejected by Duterte.

Also last month, senators grilled Duque for the overpriced COVID-19 tests paid by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the overpriced personal protective equipment purchased by the department. — With Raymond Africa

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