(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has observed a decrease in the number of COVID-19 swab tests conducted in 14 regions in the country, with the “largest decline” recorded in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“We’ve observed that 14 regions had less number of RT-PCR tests done in the recent week versus the previous week,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during Monday’s online media briefing.
“The largest decline was for the National Capital Region, where from 266,042 it was lower by 37,383 tests or 14.1 percent. This translated to the lower positive individuals from 48,229 to 35,603,” she added.
According to Vergeire, the DOH is still evaluating the reasons for the decline in the regions’ testing output.
DOH Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire (FILE PHOTO)
“We are still assessing the reasons for this decline and if this reflects a true decline in cases or is affected by other factors, such as ongoing active case finding and contact tracing and the use of rapid antigen tests to complement the RT-PCR testing,” she said.
NCR testing output
Vergeire said six NCR local governments had a decrease in tests reported in the last two weeks.
In particular, Parañaque City attributed the decline in its testing output to the decreased testing capacity of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, according to the DOH official.
Only Pasay City, Vergeire added, had a “decrease in tests reported due to the shift to the use of antigen tests.”
“Four local governments reported a general decrease in the case trend and, by extension, contacts detected: Caloocan, Pasig, Pateros and Mandaluyong,” she also said.
With COVID-19 cases in most areas in the country “starting to decline,” Vergeire underscored the need to address the reduction in the testing output as well as to “ensure daily submission of antigen linelist and [to] continue active case finding to validate” the decline in infections.
On Sunday, the Philippines logged 13,273 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s case count to a total of 2,593,399.