COVID-19 task force tracks down 15,000 potential carriers of virus

Presidential Peace adviser and concurrent National Task Force COVID-19 Response Chief Implementor Carlito Galvez Jr. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The government is tracking down around 15,000 potential carriers of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as it tries to catch up with its backlog in testing individuals who might have contracted the respiratory illness.

National Task Force COVID-19 Response Chief Implementor Carlito Galvez Jr. said Tuesday that this is based on the current data of the Department of Health (DOH) on fatalities and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.

“Meron pa kaming 15,000 na hinahanap. ‘Yun ang parang nakita natin, ‘yung 15,000 na ‘yun ang tinatawag natin na backlog natin in real sense [We are still looking for 15,000 suspected cases. That’s what we considers as backlog in real sense],” he said in an interview with dzMM.

The DOH defines a COVID-19 “suspect” as a person who has symptoms of the disease and has traveled or resided in a hotspot of the illness or has had exposure to a confirmed or probable carrier.

Of this number, around 5,000 to 8,000 are based in Metro Manila, according to the official.

Galvez also revealed that the government is set to procure one million test kits to test more persons suspected to have contracted the disease.

Earlier, Health Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire also said that the DOH is set to procure a bulk of test kits that could last for three months.

Data from the DOH as of Monday afternoon showed that the total number of cases of infection in the country is now at 4,932 with 284 new cases. Of this number, 315 have died while 248 have recovered.

Edited by JPV