DOH urges labs to resume ops as number of COVID-19 tested individuals drops

The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday urged laboratories to remain open amid the holiday season for the government to be able to tally an accurate number of COVID-19 cases in the country. 

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the call since DOH records have shown that the number of individuals tested per day fell to 14,196 on December 25, Christmas Day.

The number of individuals tested for COVID-19 further went down to 13,314 and 11,510 on December 26 and 27, respectively. 

“There was really minimal submission [on the part of the laboratories] and there were patients who preferred not going to the laboratories during Christmas time. There are also some disease reporting units, like the local government units where we get the specimen, which were closed. It affected the number of cases the past two days so we are trying to ensure and are already advising our laboratories to remain open to continue processing of specimens for COVID-19,” Vergeire said in an ANC interview. 

Vergeire, however, said it is too early to tell if the temporary closure of laboratories during Christmas festivities will surely result in ballooning of COVID-19 cases.

“It has gotten to 800 plus [new COVID-19] cases due to minimal submission of specimens, but we are looking if the number would jump coming from the delayed or stopping of operations or it is because these are real [increase in] cases already since our partner institutions have predicted that there will be increase in the number of COVID-19 cases by January,” she said. 

“We are starting to analyze the numbers to better advise the public,” Vergeire added.

The Philippines has recorded 469,886 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday. Of this number, 438,678 recovered while 9,109 died.

The number of active COVID-19 cases is at 22,099. 

The new variant of the virus causing COVID-19 first spotted in the United Kingdom, however, has prompted some countries to reimpose travel bans, if not restrictions, on international flights, including the Philippines. 

The said variant of the coronavirus, however, has yet to be seen in the Philippines based on the assessment of specimens conducted by the Philippine Genome Center, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the UP-National Institute of Health until October, Vergeire said. 

These government agencies are still assessing specimens taken in November and December to determine is such a new variant has already infiltrated the country, she added. —KG, GMA News