Department of Health official said Thursday, though that it was too early to tell due to limited data, there are indications the Philippines is flattening the COVID-19 curve.
“Too early to say, hindi pa natin ‘yan masabi with all of these things that we are doing, wala pa tayo doon sa punto na puwede na tayong makapag-analyze at makapagsabi that we have already flattened the curve,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
(Too early to say, we can’t say that with all of these things that we are doing, we are not there yet to the point where we can analyze and say that we have already flattened the curve.)
Vergeire also clarified that the daily tally DOH releases are not yet real-time.
“Hindi pa rin talaga tayo real-time. Ang ating turnaround time ay mayroon pa rin tayong gap, so hindi pa rin siya real-time,” she said.
(We’re still not real-time. Our turnaround time still has a gap, so it’s still not real-time.)
Nonetheless, the health official reiterated that as per the available data, the doubling time of the virus in the country has slowed down to five days from three days.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said earlier, the fewer deaths recorded in recent days and the slowed doubling time are indications that the coronavirus in the Philippines had been managed.
“Mentras bumabagal ang case doubling time, mas magandang indikasyon iyon kasi ibig sabihin hindi ganoon [kabilis] ang pagtaas ng numero ng kaso,” Vergeire said.
Dr. Beverly Ho, OIC- Director IV for Health Promotion and Communication Service, further explained that the DOH does not categorically declare that the COVID-19 curve is already flattening because it admits the data limitations.
“Why are we so careful about it? It’s because we know the issues with the data as well. We know the limitations. To call it as such would be irresponsible from our end,” Ho said.
“But if you’re talking about indications that it is flattening, yes it is,” she added.
As of April 23, the Philippines has recorded 6,981 cases, 462 deaths, and 722 recoveries.