DOH cites improved health system capacity, pandemic response

Filipino nurse Marciana Erispe tends to a mother inside the maternity ward of the government-run Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines, September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

 MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippines’ health system capacity is improving despite ranking 20th in the world with the most number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, the Department of Health said Friday. 

DOH Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire added that the Johns Hopkins University’s virus tracker only showed COVID-19 cumulative cases and that the public should also focus on the active cases and number of recoveries. 

“Di lang numero ang lagi nating tinitignan kapag tinitignan natin kung how we are faring in this response,” Vergeire told reporters in an online press briefing. 

(We shouldn’t focus only on the numbers on how we are faring in this response.) 

“We might be in the top 20 among all of the countries in the world in the number of cases, but when we look at our health system capacity, it has been improved tremendously,” she added. 

Vergeire previously said that there has been an “improvement” in the country’s critical care utilization as there has been a “slow decongestion in hospitals including Metro Manila, the epicenter of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak. 

“Itong health system capacity, napaka-importante na tinitignan aside from the numbers,” she said. 

(This health system capacity is important aside from looking at the numbers.) 

The numbers

With 314,079 total COVID-19 cases, the Philippines is now the 20th nation with the most number of infections.

The United States tops the list with 7,273,943 COVID – 19  cases, based on the Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.  

 ‘Contact tracing levels up’

Vergeire added that there has also been an improvement in contact tracing efforts and that the country’s testing capacity has expanded. 

“Sa ngayon (For now), we have already tested about 3.5 million [people],” Vergeire said of the number of people who have been tested. 

NCR cases decline

Aside from this, Vergeire also noted that there was a downward trend in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila since it was placed under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from Aug. 4-18. 

“From 16,000 weekly cases last Aug. 6 to 12, bumaba na po tayo sa 3,772 weekly cases nitong nakaraang linggo (we have gone down to 3,772 weekly cases in this past week) as of Sept. 28,” she said. 

“So if we look at that, talagang malaki na po ang nai-improve ng ating response compared to before,” Vergeire added. 

(So if we look at the number, there has been an improvement in the virus response compared to before.)

“So whatever would be this ranking across the globe, this is because of the totality of the number of cases,” she said.

“But when we look at the number of active cases, our recovery rate, our case fatality rate, and looking at our health system capacity, we can see that we have improved and sa tingin natin nakaka-agapay tayo dito sa ating (we think that we have improved in our) response for COVID-19.”

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