MANILA, Philippines – Explaining the discrepancy between the data from the coronavirus tracker and its pronouncements, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, April 6, said the tracker was “suffering from technical issues.”

“We have been explaining that our NCOV tracker is suffering from technical issues so yun pong down na system ay hindi na pi-pick up ang lumalabas na resulta (because of this the system won’t pick up the new results),” DOH Undersecretary Maria Vergeire said. 

The coronavirus tracker is developed and maintained by the health department.

On Friday, April 3, Carlito Galvez Jr, chief implementer at the National Task Force, said in a press briefing that a total of around 16,000 individuals were tested for the virus.

This created confusion because last Thursday, April 2, there were only around 5,000 individuals tested for the virus as shown on the coronavirus tracker. Reporters asked for clarification on the figure, but the DOH didn’t respond.

On Sunday, April 5, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire reported the number of individuals tested for the virus rose to 19,000, while the DOH tracker only showed that a total of around 6,000.

It was not yet clear when the tracker started suffering from technical issues. The coronavirus tracker has been the source of information for most news organizations and the public on the latest figures.

Rappler has reached out to the DOH for clarification, but have not replied as of posting. 

Meanwhile, Vergeire said that while the tracker hasn’t been fixed yet, they will give figures on the coronavirus cases through press briefings. 

According to Vergeire, a total of 22,958 tests have been conducted as of Monday. Of this number, 16,615 turned out negative while 3,414 turned out positive. 

The Philippines now has 3,660 cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the Department of Health (DOH) reported 414 additional cases on April 6. The DOH also reported 11 more patients died of COVID-19, leading to a total of 163 fatalities while 9 patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 73. – Rappler.com