MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Senator Manny Pacquiao noted on Wednesday the importance of reporting COVID-19 cases on a daily basis.
The presidential bet鈥檚 comment came after the Department of Health (DOH) said that the reporting of COVID-19 infections will be done weekly starting March 7.
READ: COVID-19 reporting to be done weekly 鈥� Andanar
鈥淯nang-una, anong dahilan bakit weekly kayo magbibigay ng information? Bakit tinatamad na?鈥� Pacquiao said in a press conference in Pangasinan.
(First, what is the reason why the information would be released weekly? Are they getting lazy?)
鈥淧angalawa, kailangan talaga everyday na nagbibigay sila ng update sa taumbayan kung ilan 鈥榶ung may COVID positive, sino nag-positive, sino yung gumaling. Kailangan ma-update ang tao dahil karapatan ng mga tao na malaman ang lahat ng nangyayari sa ating bansa araw-araw,鈥� he added.
(Second, they must give updates to the public on how many tested positive, how many recovered. They need to be updated because it is their right to know what is happening in the country every day.)
The senator said that sharing daily information would prompt the public to take caution.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier shared that the weekly bulletin will focus on severe and critical cases and the utilization in intensive care units.
She said that the COVID-19 tracker will be retained on the DOH website for now, which will eventually be updated on a weekly basis as well.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the weekly issuance meant to boost the people鈥檚 confidence under the new normal.
READ: Duque: Weekly release of COVID-19 data to boost public confidence
鈥淚t鈥檚 also to help boost confidence among our people because every day if you always see breaking news, breaking news every 4:00, the inertia gets more entrenched, and so even if gusto nating magluwag (we want to ease restrictions) to a reasonable degree without removing the compliance to the minimum public health standards, 鈥榶ung inertia, malakas (the inertia is strong),鈥� he explained on ABS-CBN 黑料社 Channel鈥檚 Headstart.
The country recorded 866 new COVID-19 cases on March 2, the lowest since the year started. The fresh infections raised the overall tally to 3,663,920.
READ: PH records 866 new COVID-19 cases; lowest tally since start of 2022