San Juan: Ground figures on active COVID-19 cases ‘much lower’ than DOH’s

(FILE) MAYOR ZAMORA INSPECTION OF COVID 19 FACILITIES / JULY 15,2020
San Juan mayor Francis Zamora inspect one of the unoccupied COVID-19 isolation facilities stationed at the San Juan Medical Center, as COVID-19 cases rise and the hospital reaching full capacity in admitting COVID-19 patients. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines — Ground figures on active COVID-19 cases in San Juan City are “much lower” than the numbers reported by the Department of Health (DOH), the city government said Sunday.

As of April 3, active cases in San Juan City are at 1,597 based on the DOH data.

However, the latest figures from the local government unit show there are only 956 active cases in the city as of April 2.

“Our ground figures reveal a much lower number of active cases than what is reflected on the DOH data,” the LGU said in a statement sent to INQUIRER.net.

According to the LGU, ground figures and DOH numbers differ because “DOH data is raw and is based on addresses declared by the patients.”

It added that the DOH data could also have delays in the reporting of recoveries from the LGU level.

“When [the] LGU conducts verification and contact tracing, we usually discover as much as 30% of those reported on a daily basis to be outside zones,” the city government explained.

Cases from “outside zones” are mostly because of three reasons, it added.

“Some of those who report being from San Juan turns out to be from other cities who, for some reason, did not want to reveal their real address, which we assume could be out of fear of community discrimination,” the local government said.

Some also declare San Juan City as their address by mistake, while some declare their home address in San Juan City instead of declaring their present address during the time they contracted the virus, according to the LGU.

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/MUF