DOH claims transparency in COVID-19 data after Robredo calls out positivity rate comparison

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday maintained that it was transparent about its  data on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after Vice President Leni Robredo called out the agency’s “misleading” comparison of positivity rates in April and July.

In an album titled “Ano nga ba ang narating ng ating COVID-19 response?” published on July 26, the DOH erroneously stated in a now deleted poster that the national positivity rate dropped from 22.2% on April 30 to 8.8% on July 23. 

The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

“The 22% they were claiming was not even the average for April. It was just for April 3 when the individual tests conducted was a very measly 2,280 tests. Of course, you will expectedly get a very high percentage when your base is very low,” Robredo said. 

“The attempt to mislead people and sugarcoat the truth is really saddening… Any attempt to disregard facts and claim victory while so many are still getting sick with the virus will diminish that opportunity,” she added.

It was not until Robredo pointed out the error that the DOH addressed the imbalanced comparison.

“Noong araw ng April 3, nakapagtala po ang DOH ng 22.19% na positivity rate, samantala, 10.9% na cumulative positivity rate as of April 30. Noong July 23 naman po, nakapagtala ng 12.1% na positivity rate at 8.8% cumulative positivity rate as of July 23,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a briefing.

She clarified that the DOH’s intention in comparing the two figures on their poster was to highlight the increase in the country’s testing capacity.

Vergeire also said that the DOH includes global COVID-19 parameters in its online materials, including the World Health Organization’s target of a positivity rate that is less than 5%.

“Wala pong panloloko dito sa mga datos na ibinibigay po natin sa ating mga kababayan… Wala pong intensyon ang DOH na linlangin ang mga tao sapagkat nilalabas naman po namin ang mga mahahalagang datos,” she said.

“Makakaasa po kayo sa amin dito sa DOH na patuloy kaming magiging transparent sa lahat ng mga datos na aming ilalabas upang makita po ng publiko ang mga naisasagawang aksyon laban sa pandemyang ito,” Vergeire added.

The DOH had previously come under fire for Health Secretary Francisco Duque III’s statements on the supposed second wave of cases and flattening of the curve of infections.

The Philippines has recorded 83,673 COVID-19 cases with 26,617 recoveries and 1,947 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon, still the second-highest across Southeast Asia.  —LDF, GMA News