The Department of Health (DOH) revealed that their data and actual situation on the ground about the Covid-19 pandemic in the country are not aligned.
“We are trying to monitor the situation. There is a kind of disconnect dahil siyempre po ang ating mga ospital nagsusumite sila ng confirmed positive individuals. ‘Yun pong mga suspects and probable na nailalagak din sa mga ospital natin ay hindi po nabibilang nang husto,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during the Laging Handa public briefing.
“We are trying to coordinate now with our hospitals so that they will also report to us the suspects and probable cases,” she said.
The University of the Philippines’ Covid-19 pandemic response team had already called out the authorities last year regarding inconsistencies in Covid-19 infection numbers.
The team said the continuing mismatch between the Department of Health (DOH) and LGU numbers are one of the factors, as well as the alarming errors in patient-level data, inconsistencies in coding, and inconsistencies in the use of date formats. Ronald Espartinez