Philippines better than US in handling COVID-19 but still among worst, says think tank

The Philippines is lagging behind most countries  when it comes to handling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to a study by Australian think tank Lowy Institute, the Philippines ranked 79th among 98 countries in containing the health crisis.

The Philippines scored 30.6 in the six indicators used by Lowy Institute in its COVID Performance Index which tracked the COVID-19 numbers of 98 nations.

The scores were calculated using the following indicators:

• Confirmed cases
• Confirmed deaths
• Confirmed cases per million people
• Confirmed deaths per million people
• Confirmed cases as a proportion of tests
• Tests per thousand people

The Philippines is laggard compared to other countries when it comes to handling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan ranked first, second and third for their successful handling of the pandemic.

Brazil scored a dismal 4.3 for the 98th spot, while the United States placed 94th with a score of 17.3.

The study excluded China due to lack of publicly available data.

Other nations included in the top 10 were Thailand, Cyprus, Rwanda, Iceland, Australia, Latvia and Sri Lanka.

In total, 98 countries were examined in the 36 weeks that followed their hundredth confirmed case of COVID-19, using data available to January 9, 2021.

Fourteen-day rolling averages of new daily figures were calculated for confirmed cases, confirmed cases per million people, confirmed deaths, confirmed deaths per million people, confirmed cases as a proportion of tests, and tests per thousand people, Lowy Institute said.

The report came as COVID-19 cases globally surpassed 100 million with the death toll exceeding two million.

According to its website, Lowy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia. It is Australia's leading think tank, providing high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on the international trends shaping Australia and the world.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health on Thursday welcomed “all research about COVID-19 and the opportunities to learn from good practices of other countries.”

It acknowledged the report but said Lowy Institute’s methodology for the index “did not capture the complex nature of pandemic response.”

The DOH added that the pandemic was “very dynamic and the capture of proper context is crucial in assessing the performance of a country.”

“We can't be comparing apples to oranges,” the DOH said in a statement.

“The indicators of performance used by the Philippines are multidimensional, with both strategic and operational indicators of health and economic performance and across the Prevent - Detect - Isolate - Test - Treat strategies,” it added.

Cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines reached 519,575 on Thursday including 475,596 recoveries and 10,552 deaths. -NB, GMA News