Hospitals being told to conceal number of COVID-19 deaths 'not true' —Nograles

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Sunday reiterated the statement of the Department of Health (DOH) that hospitals were not directed to conceal the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths.

In a virtual press briefing, Nograles, spokesperson for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said the supposed directive of the DOH is not true.

"Hindi ito totoo. Naglabas na ng pahayag ang Department of Health na wala silang ganitong utos sa ating mga ospital. Walang ganitong polisiya ang inyong pamahalaan," he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III issued the denial himself in response to a post by GMA News' Arnold Clavio which claimed that a hospital in Metro Manila received such orders.

Clavio said the bodies in the hospital began to pile up in the hallways and the hospital had called for more body bags.

He, however, did not say that the order had come from the DOH.

But Nograles said that Cabinet secretaries have agreed that bodies should be cremated within 12 hours after death, and that all factors that may contribute to delay should be set aside first.

"Ang desisyon ng grupo ng mga Cabinet secretaries, dapat yung 12 hours na cremation dapat ma-fulfill yan. Ang nagiging problema ay yung delay sa payment, naghihintayan ng bayad. So ang naging desisyon ng gabinete is do not wait for payment. Kung kailangan i-cremate, i-cremate na yan at huwag nating hintayin na kung sino pa magbayad at magturuan," he said.

"Ang assurance natin ay mahanapan ng solution pagdating sa bayad, sa payment, sinong magbabayad. Pero kailangan, we must stick to the 12-hour rule pagdating sa cremation," he added.

Also, Nograles said information released by various government agencies are facts.

"Various government functionaries regularly appear on media to give updates on the different actions being taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Tuluy-tuloy ang pagbabalita ukol sa COVID-19 response dahil alam namin na mahalaga ito sa inyo," he said.

"This outbreak concerns all of us, so we recognize that it is our responsibility to give you facts, all the facts and nothing but the facts. You deserve nothing less," he added.

East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City also issued a statement on Saturday saying it did not receive any order or statement from the DOH or the local government to stop the reporting of COVID-19 deaths.

It also assured the public that bodies were not piling up at the back of the hospital.

EAMC also said although the number of body bags was dwindling, they had a steady supply of the product. —Erwin Colcol/KG/LBG, GMA News