Robredo questions DOH’s classification of new COVID-19 cases

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday questioned the logic behind the Department of Health’s (DOH) decision to classify new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections as either “fresh” or “late” cases.

Robredo said the new classifications would only lead to more confusion.

“Hindi ko alam kung ano iyong logic doon sa pagbigay ng classification… Nakakalito kung bakit kailangan iyong ganito. Dapat kapag first time nire-report parati iyong ‘fresh’ e,” she said in her weekly radio show.

The DOH said COVID-19 test results released to a patient within the past three days counted as “fresh” cases, while results that were released to a patient four days ago or longer as of reporting time were considered “late.”

The department explained that it made the change to avoid stoking fears when they report a high number of new COVID-19 cases.

Robredo also renewed her call for the DOH to speed up its accreditation of COVID-19 testing centers, citing the snail-paced release of test results.

“Kung bibilis-bilisan, baka hindi na kailangan nitong bagong classification… na dapat as soon as possible, maibigay na iyong resulta,” she said.

As of May 29, the Philippines had 37 certified polymerase chain reaction facilities and 11 GeneXpert laboratories, while 130 other institutions were undergoing the laboratory accreditation process. — DVM, GMA News