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The Department of Health (DoH) will take a more localized approach in reporting coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases.
“We would like it to be as granular as possible, dahil gusto natin, ang local response, immediately magagawa (we want the local response to start immediately). We can get the answer from the local government itself, ”said the Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire.
The granular numbers would better guide local government units and hold them accountable with their response, he added.
“‘If we look, only a few cities in NCR have many new cases there and the others do not (if we look at the numbers, only a few cities in the National Capital Region have a high number of cases). After NCR, others provinces will adopt the granular approach, ”he continued.
He cautioned against interpreting the data on new cases, as cities with high Covid numbers should be measured with their general population data.
On Monday, the DoH reported 2,638 new Covid cases, bringing the total to 359,169.
The DoH said 226 patients have recovered from the virus, for a total of 310,303 recoveries, and 26 died, for a total of 6,675 deaths.
With 4.1 million tested for the virus, the country’s positivity rate is 9.87 percent, down from the 10 percent recorded in recent weeks.
Vergeire also said that Filipinos planning non-essential travel abroad must still be tested for Covid-19 in their destination country despite the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases requiring a negative antigen test within 24 hours before departure.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles previously said on Facebook that a negative antigen test is only required 24 hours prior to departure for Filipinos traveling abroad, unless other countries require the reaction test result in much more accurate reverse transcription polymerase chain (rRT-PCR).
Vergeire said that some countries will not accept the results of the antigen test and others require an rRT-PCR test to show that the traveler is not infected.
RRT-PCR remains the gold standard for confirming the genetic material of the virus that causes Covid-19, while antigen testing detects visible proteins when the virus is replicating.
Meanwhile, the Immigration Office (BI) will provide free RT-PCR tests for employees.
The Commissioner of Immigration, Jaime Morente, said that the tests will be mainly for the leaders of the office.
“Being avant-garde, BI staff is one of those most at risk, as we are in close contact with numerous people every day in the performance of our duties,” Morente said.
Testing for Immigration employees will take place at the Maynila Palace, the Manila Health Office and the Governor’s Palace in Intramuros.
BI Deputy Commissioner Aldwin Alegre, chair of the office’s Covid Task Force, emphasized that the swab testing will be carried out with the help of partner agencies.
“We have received an allocation for swab kits from the Philippine Coast Guard and the Manila Local Government Unit,” Alegre said.
With Jomar Canlas
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