DOH: COVID-19 testing output down in NCR, up in Visayas and Mindanao

COVID-19 testing output has decreased in Metro Manila but increased in Visayas and Mindanao, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the average number of weekly COVID-19 tests in Metro Manila dropped to 189,000 from 232,000.

“Part of this would be maybe the reduction in the number of cases. Second, it might be that we are using another testing methodology for this NCR Plus bubble,” she said in an online briefing.

The government deployed antigen testing kits to Metro Manila and neighboring areas in April when COVID-19 cases were surging. DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea De Guzman previously said this may have affected testing output. 

Meanwhile, Vergeire said Visayas and Mindanao both increased their weekly testing outputs.

In Visayas, average COVID-19 tests rose to 50,000 from 46,000 per week.

In Mindanao, the average tests for COVID-19 went up to 42,000 from 29,000.

“Nakikita po natin ‘yung pagtaas ng testing outputs doon sa mga lugar na naaapektuhan ngayon ng pagtaas ng kaso at dito naman po sa NCR, nakikita natin ang konting pagbaba,” Vergeire said.

(We are seeing an increase in testing outputs in areas experiencing a spike in cases and here in NCR, we are seeing a decrease [in testing].)

The DOH earlier flagged some regions in Visayas and Mindanao over rising COVID-19 cases. 

The downtrend in new infections in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, on the other hand, has started to slow down. 

The Philippines has 53,757 active COVID-19 cases after recording 7,058 new infections on Sunday afternoon, the third straight day in which new cases breached 7,000. —KG, GMA News