DOH to present new method of reporting COVID-19 cases next week

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said it will be presenting a new method of reporting new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Philippines.

During the Laging Handa online press briefing, DOH spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the department was also planning to veer away from reporting “fresh” cases and “late” cases.

Fresh cases refer to those that were validated in the past three days while late cases refer to those that were recorded at least four days ago but have just been validated, according to the DOH.

“Meron na ho kaming binuo  na bagong means of reporting  kung saan hindi na ho natin ipapakita ang late at fresh cases,” Vergeire said.

(We are already preparing a new way of reporting cases where we won’t be showing late and fresh cases.)

“Ang ipapakita na lang ho natin yung additional na mga kaso na pumapasok pero magpapakita ho kami ng epidemiological graph namin, kung saan makikita po doon kung ano yung mga pumasok  talaga within the past three days based on onset of illness,” she further explained.

(What we will instead present is the additional cases with the help of our epidemiological graph where it will show what are those being validated in the past three days.)

The DOH previously decided to separate “fresh cases” from “late cases” to allay fears that COVID-19 cases in the country are on the rise.

As of July 3, the DOH recorded a record high in COVID-19 cases, with 1,531 new cases, bringing the total to 40,336.

/MUF