DOH: Daily 'time-based' tagging of COVID-19 recoveries to provide public with accurate data
MANILA, Philippines — The public should expect a higher number of reported COVID-19 recoveries as the Department of Health shifts to the daily logging of “time-based” recoveries.
In a briefing Wednesday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency is now doing the daily time-based tagging instead of the weekly tagging of COVID-19 recoveries to provide the public with accurate data.
The DOH recorded high numbers of COVID-19 recoveries starting Sunday: 72,607 (April 18), 9,266 (April 19), and 21,664 (April 20).
Before this, time-based recoveries were announced every Sunday after validation by the department’s regional offices with local government units.
Vergeire said the shift to the daily release of time-based recoveries was instructed by DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III to ensure the figures are “more accurate.”
“Base sa pag-aanalyze natin, tinignan natin ‘yung epekto nito (weekly time-based tagging], so parang na-s-skew ‘yung numbers natin because this is a one-time uploading every seven days,” she said.
(Based on analysis on the effects of [weekly time-based tagging], the numbers appear to be skewed because this is a one-time uploading every seven days.)
“Now the question is: why is the figure still high? Basically, it’s because the cases are increasing and most of the cases are mild and asymptomatic so many will recover,” the health official said.
Time-based and symptom-based recovery strategies are part of the department’s “Oplan Recovery” program. Under the set-up, COVID-19 patients who are mild or asymptomatic will be tagged as recovered after completing 14-day isolation.
The mechanism was recommended by the Philippine College of Physicians, and the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
The country has so far reported 953,106 COVID-19 cases, of which 137,006 were active. The severe respiratory illness has claimed the lives of 16,141 people. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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