Around 7% COVID-19 positivity ratio shows Philippines doing ‘good’ in pandemic response — expert

The Philippines' current COVID-19 positivity ratio or the number of individuals who turned out positive for the virus out of all those who took the test supports that the country is doing good in flattening the curve, according to a medical expert on Friday.

"Currently we are hovering around 7%. Ano ba ang sinasabi ni WHO? Ang magandang standard o magandang benchmark is about 10%," Dr. Anna Lim, an infectious disease expert, said in a virtual forum.

"Actually, we are now below that mark and that means a good performance," she added.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire explained that during the early stages of the outbreak, the Philippines' positivity ratio reached as high as 16% because of the limited testing capacity.

"At the outset ang ating priority talaga [for testing] is the severe, the critical and the vulnerable so kaya talagang nag-umpisa tayo na mataas ang ating positivity rate," she said.

"I think we even reached 16% dahil nga masyadong biased ang testing natin towards these people who really are sick at masasabi mo na talagang magpopositibo," she added.

The improved testing capacity of up to 7,000 daily—which started at 300 per day—also enabled the health experts to see a clearer picture of the COVID-19 situation.

Lim explained that because the COVID-19 tests are being administered to a wider base, the positivity ratio that comes out is more reflective of what is happening on the ground.

Based on the Department of Health's (DOH) online tracker,  there were over 131,786 individuals which have undergone the COVID-19 test nationwide as of May 6.

Of this number, 13,405 (10.2%) have tested positive while 118,085 (89.6%) turned out negative for the virus.

The Philippines reached a cumulative total of 10,343 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 685 deaths and 1,618 recoveries on May 7.

According to Dr. Edsel Salvana, part of the Technical Advisory Group of the inter-agency task force handling COVID-19 response, the objective of doing widespread test is being achieved.

There are currently 23 accredited COVID-19 testing laboratories across the country. National Task Force Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said the testing capacity has also been increased to 12,000 daily after mega swabbing centers have been set up. — RSJ, GMA News