MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday night retracted its earlier announcement that four cities in Metro Manila had been classified as “emerging hotspots” for COVID-19.
Earlier in the day, the DOH announced that Marikina, Muntinlupa, Makati, and Quezon City had been deemed hotspots for coronavirus infection.
According to the DOH, the cities were “mistakenly classified as hotspots” and that the announcement was “based on a report last month.”
As of July 5, the DOH noted that COVID-19 cases in three of the four cities actually show a significant decline in the growth of cases, with Marikina decreasing by 68%, Muntinlupa by 10%, and Makati by 4%.
But the DOH said that it was “closely monitoring” Quezon City which has shown a 34% case growth.
“We apologize for the confusion. This is our up to date record. We will redouble our efforts to keep our reports as current as possible,” the DOH said.
/atm