Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 4) — The license of a major testing laboratory was suspended for violating reporting rules on COVID-19 infections, the Department of Health said on Monday, while four other facilities may suffer the same fate.
“We were able to suspend the license of one of the big laboratories last December 29 because of its continuous noncompliance to our reportorial requirements,” Health Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.
She refused to identify the facilities pending legal approval. The DOH said laboratories that don’t submit reports on time were already warned.
“Kahit tayo ay nasa pandemya, kung talagang hindi namin kayo mahihikayat na tumugon sa hiling ng gobyerno na tumulong kayo sa amin ay hindi rin namin kayo mapapayagan na mag-continue kayo ng operations. These are requirements for your license to be sustained,” Vergeire said.
[Translation: If we cannot convince you to heed the call of the government, we cannot allow you to continue operations.]
Vergeire said from an average of 36,000 laboratories, only 22,000 submitted reports during the holidays. This resulted in a 5% drop in positive COVID-19 cases nationwide because of fewer operational testing laboratories and patients undergoing tests.
“Malaking bagay ang 12,000 na nawala sa outputs na sinasubmit sa atin. Bumaba talaga ang number of cases we are reporting per day,” the spokesperson said.
[Translation: We are truly reporting lower number of cases. The 12,000 laboratories that did not submit outputs is a big deal.]
Officials said the “true trend” of new coronavirus cases will be observed mid-January as laboratories resume full operations on Monday.
OCTA Research fellow Guido David agreed that current data does not show the “complete picture” of the holiday surge as a number of laboratories were closed or downscaled operations on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
COVID-19 cases in the country stood at 477,807, with 891 new cases announced on Sunday. The recovery count was at 448,258 or 93.8% of all those infected. The virus claimed the lives of 9,257 Filipinos.
