MANILA – A technical issue with the case collection systems resulted in lower reporting of deaths from Covid-19 counts over the past week, the Department of Health (DOH) said Tuesday.
In a statement, the DOH said the glitch caused incomplete fatality numbers and data encoded.
As a result, 341 deaths prior to April 2021 went unreported, the DOH said.
"The number of deaths reported today (April 6), 382, already includes the said deaths not reported in previous counts," the agency said.
Despite the additional cases, the cumulative case fatality rate for the Philippines remains low at 1.7 percent, and the average deaths per day for March is at 28 – comparable to the 27 average deaths per day seen in February and lower than the 32 average deaths per day in January.
“There has been no reported spike in the number of deaths anywhere in the country," it added.
The DOH Epidemiology Bureau’s COVID-19 Surveillance Quick Action Unit resolved the system malfunction.
Currently, the Covid-19 dashboard reflects the submitted numbers.
On Tuesday, 313 new recoveries upped the overall tally to 646,381. The number is 79.5 percent of the total 812,760 cases.
There were also 9,373 new cases that brought active infections to 152,562. Total fatalities are 13,817, or 1.70 percent of total cases.
The DOH assured the public it is continuously working to ensure consistent monitoring and maintenance of its information systems to ensure their proper operation.
It called on disease reporting units, local government units, and health facilities to ensure submission of complete and timely information of cases and deaths which are vital in guiding Covid-19 response strategies and interventions. (PNA)
