Red Cross seeks approval to inform cases of positive COVID-19 results

In a bid to arrest the community transmission of the novel coronavirus, Senator Richard Gordon on Monday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to authorize and allow the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to directly inform individuals of their positive COVID-19 test results.

"Based on the calls, emails and text messages we receive requesting for their test results, at least one-third of over 15,700 positive confirmed cases since July 30 have not been informed yet about their status as confirmed positives," Gordon, chair of the PRC, said in a statement.

"They may have been dangerously increasing community transmission," he added.

Under the current system, the PRC sends only negative test results and the positive ones are forwarded to the DOH so that the latter, which is better equipped to enforce mandated health and safety protocols, could relay the information to infected individuals.

In a letter sent to the DOH on Monday, the senator said "PRC finds it imperative that the positive results should be immediately relayed to the patients as soon as results are available in our system."

Gordon underscored that such a move was crucial as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached over 161,000 on Sunday.

As of August 17, the Philippines recorded a total of 164,474 COVID-19 cases with 112,759 recoveries and 2,681 deaths.

Of the 49,034 active cases, 91.1 percent were mild, 6.5 percent were asymptomatic, one percent were severe, and 1.4 percent were critical. — DVM, GMA News