Cebu City’s COVID-19 updates will now be coursed through DOH-7 — Labella

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that to avoid the confusion brought by the discrepancies in the number of cases reported by the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) and the Cebu City Health, only the DOH-7 will be revealing the updates from now on.

Labella admitted the discrepancies in the cases has caused confusion to the public, which has contributed to unnecessary panic, and that’s why the Interagency Task Force (IATF) ordered for the harmonization of the data.

Read: Cebu City Health ceases release of COVID-19 info

“In many instances, there were many discrepancies. This really reached the national government, so there is a need to harmonize. Starting today, Doctor (Jean) Loreche of DOH-7 will be going to make the official pronouncement of the data,” said Labella.

24-hour validation

The mayor assured the public that the data will still be released, and this time the data is verified and accurate as it has been consolidated from all health agencies.

Doctor Jaime Bernadas, the director DOH-7, said that the data will be processed for validation for at least 24 hours before it will be released to the media.

He asked for the consideration of the public for the slight delay since the DOH-7 only wants to provide accurate information.

“We ask for your consideration and cooperation,” he said.

The Cebu City Health also announced on July 6, 2020, that they will no longer post the number of cases on their Facebook Page as recommended by the IATF. /bmjo