DOH to present new way of reporting COVID-19 cases next week

The Department of Health (DOH) said that it will present a “new way of reporting" cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the public by next week. 

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that they will remove the distinction of “fresh” and “late” cases in their new method of reporting.

“Ang ipapakita nalang po natin ay ang additional na mga kaso na pumapasok, pero magpapakita po kami ng graph kung saan ang epidemiologic graph na iyon makikita doon kung ano ang pumasok talaga within the past three days na mga kaso based on onset of illness ,” said Vergeire during the “Laging Handa” press briefing. 

“ para makita ng ating mga kababayan kung ano talaga ang mga pumapasok na bago at kung ano talaga yung true picture ng ating mga numero sa bawat araw ,” she added 

Last May, the DOH reformatted its presentation of COVID-19 case data, differentiating it between “fresh” and “late” after the agency then reported a highest single day increase in cases. 

To note, fresh cases refers to test results released to patients within the last three days, while late cases are test results released four days ago or more.

As of this writing, the Philippines has 40,336 COVID-19 cases, including 11,073 recoveries and 1,280 deaths.