DOH to release weekly COVID-19 case bulletin starting March 7 –Vergeire

The Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday that it will “permanently” shift from issuing daily COVID-19 case bulletin to a weekly basis, focusing on active severe and critical infections and the intensive care unit (ICU) utilization starting March 7.

“Starting March 7, that’s a Monday next week, we will be issuing a revised case bulletin kung saan mas magpo-focus na po tayo sa (wherein we will focus more on the) severe and critical cases and the utilization in our ICUs. Previously, mga case number kasi ang nilalabas natin, mababago na po (we release case number, so that will change),” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a Palace briefing.

She added the public COVID-19 tracker will also be updated daily for now, but it will also be released once a week soon along with the case bulletin.

“We still retain the public, but tracker eventually ipe-phase out din po natin na magiging once a week na rin po, kasabay o [we will phase it out eventually and be released weekly] aligned with our case bulletin,” Vergeire said.

She explained the purpose for these changes is to make the public look beyond the number of infections, and instead focus on the symptoms and healthcare utilization in the country.

“Gusto ho nating tanggalin ‘yung mindset ng ating kababayan na numero ang tinitignan natin (we want to remove the people’s mindset of just looking at the numbers). We have seen in this Omicron situation that the situation or the characteristic of the virus has become milder compared to the Delta variant,”

“Ngayon, kaya po natin nililipat kasi mas kritikal po at should be the consequences that the population cares about itong severe, critical, at saka mga namamatay, at kung mao-overwhelm ang ating healthcare system,” she added.

[We are shifting now because it is more critical and the consequences that the population should care about is if the infection is severe, critical, and death toll, and if our healthcare system is overwhelmed.)

In case there will be another uptick in COVID-19 infections, Vergeire said the DOH will be providing information to the public.

“As to the case numbers, kung mga mild po ‘yan, we treat it like it’s part of our lives. We live with the virus. ‘Yung severe at kritikal ang pagtuunan po natin ng pansin [(et’s focus on the severe and critical),” she emphasized.—AOL, GMA News