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Confirmed COVID-19 cases expected to increase with more tests conducted —Duque


 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Sunday said a further increase in confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is expected as they expand their testing capacity.

In an interview on GMA News’ Unang Balita, Duque said the recent increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases was due to the expanded testing.

“Dahil dumarami rin ang ating tine-test, nakikita rin natin ang positive cases. Although, siyempre, dahil sa global shortage ng supply chain ng test kits, hindi pa rin tayo makatodo,” he said.

“Ganu'n naman ang naging karanasan sa lahat ng bansang nagkaroon ng mataas na bilang. Ang kanilang testing capacity napalawig nila,” he added.

On Saturday, the DOH confirmed 13 additional COVID-19 cases in the country, bringing the total to 111.

Almost 2,000 testing kits are available at the DOH every week, according to Duque.

He added that the government is expecting around 12,000 kits from China and 5,000 from South Korea.

Duque noted that money is not the reason behind the lack of testing kits but the global shortage of the supply chain.

The Health secretary explained that the higher ratio of deaths in the country compared to the global average record was also due to the lack of testing capacity.

"Kung mas marami kang mate-test, mas liliit ‘yung fatality rate mo,” he said. —Joviland Rita/KG, GMA News

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