The Taguig City government has asked the Octa Research team tracking the COVID-19 pandemic to carefully check its data before making it official to avoid confusion, anxiety and fear among the public.
Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said contrary to OCTA’s report, Barangay Fort Bonifacio haf only 116 COVID-19 cases for the period March 18-24, 2021, and not 342.
He said the city’s research team and the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit were analyzing the same data from the Department of Health.
“The 342 cases OCTA stated is the total of all types of cases reported by the laboratories during the said period,” Cayetano said.
“This total includes positive cases that have already recovered, cases that turned out to be negative, presumptive positive cases, equivocal cases, inconclusive cases, and those awaiting results of the tests. If these cases are excluded—as they should be—Fort Bonifacio, to repeat, will only have 116 COVID-19 cases for the given period.”
As of Thursday, Fort Bonifacio had only 42 active cases. It has an estimated 100,000 residents.
Cayetano said at 42 cases per 100,000 population, the barangay was well below the national count of 83 active cases per 100,000 population, and the National Capital Region number of 158 active cases per 100,000 population.
He says their research team and CEDSU “painstakingly collect, counter-check, verify and analyze its COVID-19 data based on accepted epidemiologic standards. This data is published in the City’s official website and social media accounts.”
Cayetano says the city stands by the accuracy and integrity of its data, which it had always made available to the public.
“Through God’s grace and with all the stakeholders’ cooperation, Taguig City has remained among the cities with the lowest reproduction rate, active cases per 100,000, and fatality rate. It is also among the cities with the highest number of RT-PCR tests made,” said Cayetano.
“Although we appreciate the work that OCTA does, we appeal that they review how they analyze data and report conclusions, as erroneous analyses and conclusions can cause panic, misapprehension, and confusion.”
Cayetano says Taguig City will continue to do its best to save and protect the lives and livelihoods of his constituents.
