Removal of daily COVID-19 bulletin may result in info gap – Eleazar

Senatorial aspirant, Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, urged the Department of Health (DOH) to reconsider its decision to stop releasing the COVID-19 case bulletin online starting January 1, 2022, because he said it could result in an information gap with the public.

“Sana ay pag-isipan muli ito ng DOH dahil maaaring magresulta ito sa mga serious consequences. Isipin niyo kung ihihinto ang paglalabas ng COVID-19 bulletin sa social media, malilimitahan ang publiko sa access sa information kung ano ang kasalukuyang sitwasyon ng pandemya sa bansa. Para tayong bulag na pulis o sundalo na nakikipagdigma sa kalaban na hindi natin nakikita,” said Eleazar.

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According to the retired general, if people are unaware of the current situation, it could create a false sense of security that could lead to neglect of minimum public health standards ’which could lead to a potential resurgence of virus cases, especially amid the threat of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19.

“Now more than ever, access to factual information is very vital as it shapes the decision of the people from the ­government and the ordinary citizens. How can we finally defeat the pandemic if we do not have a vision of how the situation is developing?” he said.

Also read: Private hospitals to hold ‘PhilHealth holiday’ on January 1-5

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Removal of daily COVID-19 bulletin may result in info gap – Eleazar

Earlier, the DOH announced on Monday that it will stop issuing the COVID-19 case bulletin starting January 2022 as they have already been posted on their website.

“Starting 1 January 2022, the Department of Health (DOH) will be providing daily case updates via www.doh.gov.ph/covid19trackerwhich is updated 4 PM daily,” said DOH.

Such a case bulletin released daily by the DOH contains new data regarding essential details about COVID-19 in the country.

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These include new daily cases, active cases, daily recoveries, deaths, and cumulative cases, cumulative recoveries, and cumulative deaths.

The government usually uses this as the basis for implementing the COVID-19 Alert Level in the country.

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