Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 1) – The Department of Health still has to process about 6,800 COVID-19 test results for validation, the agency’s spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said Monday.
“Ito pong sinasabi natin na mga backlogs, meron po tayo sa ngayon, we have around 6,800 pa na kailangang i-validate natin na atin pong pagtatrabahuhan sa mga susunod na araw para po magkaroon na tayo ng at least approximation between the unique individuals tested and those confirmed positive for COVID-19,” Vergeire said in a Monday briefing in Malacañang.
[Translation: Regarding backlogs, right now, we have around 6,800 (reports) that we need to validate which we will work on in the next few days to provide an approximation between the unique individuals tested and those confirmed positive for COVID-19.]
Vergeire said “operational issues” in select testing laboratories led to delays.
She said the original 7,000 case backlog for verification went down to almost 500 as of Friday as the system migrated to computerized reporting. However, she said new “operational issues” – such as a busted exhaust system at the laboratory of the Western Visayas Medical Center – led to an increase in testing backlogs.
“We are trying to address this already,” Vergeire said.
The DOH changed the way it presents the COVID-19 case tally last week, separating “fresh” cases – or positive results reported within the last three days – against “late” cases referred by local units at least four days ago.
Now, Vergeire also explained two distinctions for backlogs: laboratory backlogs, referring to samples left unprocessed or without results after 48-72 hours; as well as delays in validation which uses documents submitted by health facilities to the agency.
The DOH reported 18,086 cases as of Sunday night, broken down into 16 fresh and 846 late cases which were added to the tally. However, Vergeire denied that the backlog of more than 6,000 cases meant that actual infections in the country are close to 24,000.
“Ito ay hindi pa sigurado. Kapag vina-validate natin ang mga kaso, ating tinitingnan baka may duplication, baka may erroneous input, so babawasin pa rin natin ‘yan [This is not a certainty. When we validate cases, we will check for duplications or erroneous input and we will remove those from the count],” the DOH official said.
The latest number of fresh cases showed just double-digit increases if the “late” reports are removed.
Vergeire assured that the DOH has been “transparent” about case reporting ever since, saying that the open system allows data to be freely downloaded by the public.
Shel also reminded the public about the regular wearing of masks, physical distancing, and frequent handwashing to prevent further infections as the country relaxes restrictions, noting that there’s always the option to return to lockdowns if cases spike again.
Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Zamboanga City, Davao City, as well as provinces in the regions of Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Central Visayas are under general community quarantine, while the rest of the country is under modified GCQ until June 15.
