The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday has reported another record-high of new confirmed COVID-19 cases at 6,352 in the country, raising the current case count to 112,593.
Latest data show that there are now 66,049 recoveries after 240 were added, while the death toll rose to 2,115 with 11 newly recorded fatalities.
Doctors are reminding the public anew not to waste the remaining days of stricter quarantine measures. “Wala na tayong ibang time out ah (We no longer have any time out left). This is the last time out so we really have to maximize the last 13 days of our MECQ),” Dr. Jose Santiago Jr. of the Philippine Medical Association stated.
Meanwhile, some physicians are raising concerns over the false hopes given by rapid test kits and are proposing the use of symptom checking and monitoring for companies.
“Dapat ihinto na ang rapid-antibody test na yan. Sa buong mundo, tayo nalang yata ang gumagamit niyan. Kalahati ng COVID hindi nakikita ng rapid-antibody test kasi hindi naman virus ang nakikita nya eh, ‘yung antibody eh (The use of rapid-antibody test must be stopped. We may be the only one in the world who are using it. Half of those with COVID are not detected by the rapid-antibody test since it does not detect virus),” Healthcare Professions Alliance Against COVID-19 Spokesperson Dr. Antonio Dans claimed.
In a statement, the DOH reiterated that they “have already previously warned the public against the danger of overconfidence in Rapid Antibody Test kit results.” It added that RT-PCR testing “remains to be the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19.” – Report from Mark Fetalco
