Duque doubts China’s transparency on coronavirus

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday said he still has doubts on whether China is being completely transparent about the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

In an interview over dzMM, Duque was asked if he thought the figures on the fatality rate and infected individuals released by China are accurate.

The question stemmed from reports about the death of a Chinese doctor who was reprimanded by authorities “spreading rumors” about the illness.

The doctor had been infected with the virus.

“Hanggang ngayon, yung duda ko, andun pa rin e. So hindi ko alam kung ga’no ba ka-transparent kasi kung titignan mo yung reaction ng China, parang hindi siya tugma doon sa mga datos na nilalabas. Eighty percent daw mild (case), tapos two percent ngayon ang case fatality rate,” Duque said.

“Pero sabi naman ng WHO (World Health Organization) ay wala naman daw dahilan na magduda dahil sila ay may independent monitoring team on the ground to validate itong mga datos mula sa Chinese Center for Disease Control,” he added.

Duque, on the other hand, expressed an understanding of China’s reaction to the virus.

“Sa Hubei province, ang case fatality rate is 8.13 percent, sa mga buong China, outside of Hubei, 0.18 percent lang. Less than one percent so kung i-average mo yung dalawa (figures), parang two  percent nga naman,” he said.

“Baka naman kaya ganun din ang reaction ng China dahil nangangamba rin sila dahil hindi pa natin masyadong nakikilala itong virus na ‘to at baka yung mutation e magkaron pa rin, to what extent the mutation can reach, yun ang hindi natin alam,” he added.

The virus, believed discovered in the capital city of Wuhan, has so far killed  636 and infected over 31,000.

Over 20 countries have been affected by the virus, with the first death outside of China recorded in the Philippines.

The Philippines has three confirmed cases, all of whom are Chinese nationals from Wuhan.