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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Underreported'? DOH to now include positive antigen test results in COVID-19 tally

'Underreported'? DOH to now include positive antigen test results in COVID-19 tally

Published Mar 30, 2021 09:30 pm

The Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday, March 30, that it will be including positive results in rapid antigen tests in its daily report on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.

During the House committee on health hearing, DOH Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire said the rapid antigen tests would now be "officially" be reported amid the fresh surge of COVID-19 cases, a year since its outbreak.

"The rapid antigen test will be officially reported for this period that we have this increase in the number of cases," Vergeire told lawmakers. 

"It's going to be used as part of our outbreak response," she added.

Vergeire said those who tested positive in rapid antigen tests need not undergo the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to confirm their results.

She cited the DOH's guidelines and a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that antigen tests can be used in areas with increased incidence virus infection.

Antigen tests can be used to confirm COVID-19 infection in outbreak areas, due to its increased sensitivity.

However, confirmatory tests are still required for individuals in areas with low transmission of COVID-19.

"We are going to use the rapid antigen tests in the NCR Plus bubble as has been recommended also by the WHO," she said.

'Underreported' cases?

Before this, Marikina 2nd District Representative Stella Quimbo raised concern over the DOH's policy of not including antigen results in its daily case bulletin, as she noted that most households were only able to confirm that they contracted COVID-19 thru such tests.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III confirmed this, saying: "Its a gap that we recognize".

He said they will work on reviewing their policies, which currently provides that only cases using RT-PCR tests will be included in the official tally.

Duque maintained that RT-PCR tests are considered the "gold standard" in COVID-19 testing.

"Your admission of a gap is  tantamount to also admitting that the numbers are underreported. Kasi hindi natin nakukuha yong nako-confirm on the basis of antigen tests (Because we are not getting those who confirmed the infection on the basis of antigen tests)," Quimbo told Duque.

"Isn't that a big concern? Considering the we already have a a new surge of cases, but because you have agreed that there is this possiblity, that there is this big gap here, were many of those that are positives are not RT-PCR positives," she added.

Vergeire, however, assured Quimbo that antigen test results are being recorded and managed by the government, too.

"We still count them, pero (but) they are part of that classification na suspect and probable sila (that they are suspect and probable cases).

They are not confimred COVID-19 cases," she explained.

"They are not reported sa (in the) case bulletin but we have the numbers for that, and we also manage them," she added.

The government has placed Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal -- its so-called "NCR plus" bubble -- under a one-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the surge in coronavirus cases.

Earlier, testing czar Vince Dizon said the IATF will ramp up testing in this bubble using antigen tests.

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