DOH-7 vows to improve links with LGUs after Talisay data discrepancy

The Department of Health in Central Visayas. | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) said it will improve its links with the health offices in the towns and cities for a more coordinated reporting of their data on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases.

This is after the “discrepancy” in the case recovery rate of Talisay City, which local officials suspect was one of the factors that pushed the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status to be hoisted over the city.

Although the COVID-19 test results come from the health agency, the DOH-7 said it is still dependent on the reports coming from the local government units (LGUs) on the recovery of patients, especially those that are isolated in the towns and cities quarantine facilities.

On Tuesday, June 17, 2020, Dr. Tony Leachon, who was then the Special Advisor to the National Task Force against COVID-19, posted slides showing the COVID-19 data of the cities in Cebu, including that of Talisay City, which reflected that the city had zero recoveries as of June 14.

Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas then clarified that the city already had 43 recoveries as of June 16.

READ: Gullas to DOH: ‘Talisay has 43 recoveries, not zero 

The DOH-7 also said they have already communicated with the Talisay City Health Office, which has already logged at least 50 recoveries to date.

“So we will be adjusting the numbers based on the actual records of Talisay City Health Office Local Surveillance Unit,” the DOH-7 said in a message reply to the members of the media.

“We only release the lab results. It is the city that knows which among these are new cases and which are repeat tests since they are the ones that fill out the forms,” it explained.

“All [LGUs] would need to feedback us their data so we can adjust the regional data,” the DOH-7 added.

READ: DOH-7 ‘disowns’ Leachon’s data showing Talisay has zero recoveries

DOH-7 Regional Director Jaime Bernadas, in a meeting with the Cebu town and city mayors, “disowned” the data that said Talisay City had no recovery.

Although he admits that there may be a delay in the transmittal of data from the local health offices to the regional office and the DOH Central Office, Bernadas said Talisay City’s recovery rate “was never zero.” /bmjo