Due to enhanced data reconciliation efforts with local government units through OPLAN RECOVERY, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 38,075 recoveries in its July 30 case bulletin, bringing the total number of recoveries as of July 30 to 65,064. The same reconciliation efforts also explain the 3,954 cases reported today, of which 1,320 cases are fresh cases, and 2,634 are late cases.

In addition to the 909 validated recoveries from the submitted reports from the regional epidemiological surveillance units, DOH recorded 37,166 additional recoveries from OPLAN RECOVERY, which is an initiative that the Department activated to monitor the statuses of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Early this month, the DOH created the COVID-19 Surveillance and Quick Action Unit which focuses on data collection, validation, and reconciliation of information available at the local and national level, through the COVIDKaya platform. These massive data reconciliation efforts have resulted in faster and more accurate tagging of health statuses-particularly on deaths and recoveries. Data on recovery reconciliations will be reported every 15 days.

The reconciliation activity resulted in over 3,000 identified recoveries from July 12-14. On July 15, the data team implemented a “mass recovery” adjustment wherein all mild and asymptomatic cases have been re-tagged as recovered with endorsement from the regional offices which resulted around 5,000 additional recoveries.

Following Department Memorandum No. 2020-0258, as endorsed by clinical practice guidelines and our technical advisory groups, patients with mild or no symptoms are tagged as recovered 14 days from the date of onset of symptoms or by date specimen collection. Current recovery policies now show that at the 10th day of illness, the risk of transmitting the virus to other people is significantly reduced. This clinical recovery protocol is followed by the US CDC, European CDC, and India.

The interim guidelines provide that for asymptomatic confirmed cases, or those who never experienced any symptoms or showed any signs of being sick, must follow the 14-day isolation management protocols in clinical practice guidelines, reckoned from the day of swab testing, with day 1 as the date after specimen collection. Upon assessment of a licensed physician, the patient can be tagged as recovered after completion of 14 days isolation period.