The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has approved the standardization of reporting and accountabilities for management of coronavirus cases and reporting in the Department of Health's information systems.

Under Resolution No. 70 issued on September 10, the IATF said COVID-19 cases shall be reported and managed based on their current address at the time of consult, irrespective of their permanent address.

For locally stranded individuals, they shall be tagged, reported, and managed by receiving local government unit, and the sending LGU shall be informed to assist in contact tracing.

IATF said that in instances where COVID-19 cases reside in more than one current address, cases shall be reported and managed in the address where the case is currently isolated or quarantined.

For cases with no full address, it said they shall be reported as based on the location of the Disease Reporting Unit, and such information shall be updated by the DRU during case management.

"Cases shall be automatically tagged in official information systems based on the above-mentioned principles. In instances where there is conflict in reporting, the LGI shall coordinate with the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit or the Department of Health to resolve official reporting cases," the IATF said.

It also tasked all DRUs to ensure timely updating of patient information in DOH information systems, especially the updating of current address, health status, such as asymptomatic, mild, moderate, severe, or critical, and outcome, such as active, death, or recovery, of cases by health facilities and LGU, and updating of test results and status as confirmed cases by the laboratory.

The IATF also ordered the Department of Interior and Local Government to ensure compliance of LGUs to tagging, reporting, and management of COVID-19 cases consistent with DOH policies.

The DOH, which has been giving daily official report on COVID-19, sometimes makes corrections on its reporting, such as after discovering of double entries and others. Celerina Monte/DMS