In the last two days since Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed that government surpassed its May 30 testing capacity target of 30,000, the government tested only 5,289 and 5,186 individuals, among the lowest since May 8 (at 5,818) or almost 20 days ago. Total tests done per day in the last two days at 6,106 and 5,875 were also the lowest since May 8 (at 6,081).
Table of tested individuals per day and total tests per day from May 10 to 25
*data from DOH
The average total tests done per day in the last 16 days is at 8,954, while the average in the last 16 days of tested individuals per day is at 8,198. The average in the last seven days is lower – with only 7,796 in total tests done per day and 7,015 in total tested individuals per day.
Government has missed all its testing capacity targets since the lockdown began, while it remains to be seen whether government will for the first time achieve its testing capacity target by May 30. It remains also to be seen when government will start mass testing as Roque also once said the government has “no mass testing program” and later clarified what the government is doing is “expanded target testing.” Public has decried the use of various terms that has served to confuse about government’s programs and achievement, instead of clarifying them.
Government has only tested 0.26 of the population (283,103 individuals over 106 million Filipino) and is looking to ease the longest lockdown in world by end of May, as cases continue to rise and deaths have only continued to rise despite the lockdown.
Roque claims 30,000, while DOH 8,500 to 9,500
“Isa pa pong mabuting balita, naabot na po natin ang ating target na 30,000 PCR tests per day. Ang original target po ay 30,000 by May 30. Pero noong Mayo 20 po ay nakaabot na po tayo sa 32,100 test per day, nalampasan po natin ang ating target. Anim na beses na po ang inilaki ng ating testing capacity mula 5,000 noong April 15 sa loob lamang ng isang buwan,” Roque said in a public briefing on May 25.
[One good news, we have reaced out target of 30,000 RT-PCR tests per day. The original target was 30,000 by May 30. But on May 20, we already reached 32,100 tests per day, we exceeded our target. Our testing capacity grew six times from 5,000 in April 15 in just one month.]
The Department of Health (DOH) would return Malacañang Palace’s correction of their pronouncement.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire clarified to reporters on the same day in the daily DOH virtual presser that the 32,000 testing capacity claimed by Roque only refers to the “estimated maximum capacity” of all licensed labs in the country.
“Our actual numbers are being reported daily thru our sit reps [situationer report] and other materials. The 32,000 is the estimated capacity sans all other factors that may affect operations of laboratories,” said Vergeire.
Vergeire said the average daily tests conducted this month is 8,590 to 9,500 per day. She added that the 66 laboratories also mentioned by Roque include the 17 labs that are set to be licensed.
Roque would later on say, “Our first step to increasing the number of daily tests conducted is to expand our testing capacity. This means more accredited laboratories and more automated machines so that we are capable of testing up to 30,000-plus per day.”
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III and the DOH was criticized for his statement that the Philippines is already in the second wave of COVID-19 transmission – the only one in the world that admitted such so far, pointed out Senator Miguel Zubiri – and Roque would later declare ‘we are still in the first wave’, overriding the government’s top doctor and head of COVID-19 pandemic response policy making body amid public outcry. Duque would later say the country is in the first major wave and the second epidemiological wave, that meant to many that he still did not concede his “second wave” position.
While most media reported Roque’s statement that government surpassed its testing capacity target of 30,000 on May 30 around five days before the deadline, government news agencies published the higher number mentioned by Roque. Philippine News Agency had in its headline on its story on Roque’s claim of ’32,000’ while government television PTV published ’32,100.’
None of these numbers were in the DOH COVID-19 tracker that only puts out actual tests done (total tests done per day and individuals tested per day) and testing lab results data (cumulative test results per lab and daily samples per lab tested).
