The ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team digs deeper into statistics uncovered by Senator Joel Villanueva, showing more than half of the close to 3,000 COVID-19 fatalities in the Philippines were never admitted into hospitals for proper health care.

It is unclear if the deaths would have been prevented with proper medical attention, but the chances of survival should always improve with hospital care.

MANILA - The end goal of the recently concluded return to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine in the National Capital Region and surrounding provinces was to help the Philippine healthcare system catch its breath and strengthen itself for the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

But data from the Department of Health show nearly half of all those who died of COVID-19 in the Philippines were never even hospitalized.

Are COVID-19 patients being neglected? Are they staying away from Hospitals of their own accord? Are they afraid of hospital bills or hospitals in general?

Whatever the reason, more Filipinos need to get proper care, especially when they are fighting COVID.

Let’s take a look at the data in these graphics prepared by the ABS-CBN Data Analytics Team. All information is based on data from the Department of Health, and updated as of August 23.

This chart breaks down COVID-19 cases into two categories -- admitted to hospitals and never admitted. Those who were never admitted are shown by the lighter shaded portion of each bar.

Highlighted are the severe and critical. While a great number of the severe cases have received proper hospital healthcare, 74 percent of critical cases were never admitted to a hospital. The black bar shows more than half of all recorded COVID-19 fatalities were never admitted to a hospital.

Nakakadurog po ng puso at nakakabahalang malaman na halos kalahati ng COVID deaths (1,286) ay hindi man lang nakatungtong ng pagamutan, at 600+ case na severe o critical, hindi na-admit sa ospital. #WeCanDoBetter #FailedCovidStrategies #LabanPilipinas

— Joel Villanueva (@senatorjoelv) August 19, 2020

These numbers are already worse compared to the data Senator Joel Villanueva cited during a senate hearing last week. As of August 23, 1,507 out of the 2,998 recorded COVID-19 fatalities never got proper hospital care.

This chart breaking down total recorded deaths by month, with those never admitted to hospital shown in gray.

We find there was a surge in deaths never admitted to hospital in June and July. A total of 816 COVID-19 deaths never received hospital care in those two months. That is more than March, April, May and August (August 1 - 20) combined.

June and July were the months the government started easing quarantine conditions across the Philippines. By the end of July an overwhelmed healthcare sector convinced the Inter Agency Task Force to tighten quarantine conditions in the National Capital Region, parts of CALABARZON, and Bulacan province.

This chart breaks down deaths by region and hospital admission. Again the lighter portion of the bars reflect fatalities which never received hospital care.

Central Visayas or Region 7 has 616 fatalities who were never admitted to hospital, compared to just 387 fatalities that were admitted. That’s 61 percent of all recorded COVID-19 fatalities in the region. 56 percent of recorded COVID-19 fatalities in CALABARZON meanwhile also never received hospital care.

The National Capital Region had a better ratio with just 47 percent of its 1,404 COVID-19 death total happening outside of hospital care. NCR however leads all regions with the most COVID-19 fatalities never admitted to hospital at 653.

Confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the Philippines are on the rise, and the 7-day moving average shown by the blue line in this chart is quite elevated compared to earlier in the pandemic.

There are issues with data collection, and the DOH has repeatedly stressed the numbers they present are limited by how well hospitals encode and update their respective COVID-19 statistics with the Health Department.

The government brought in data science specialist Thinking Machines to help improve data collection and COVID-19 related reporting early in the pandemic, but the Health Department says there are still some hospitals which are not yet up to speed.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

The Inter Agency Task Force issued an order just last week, reminding all COVID-19 disease reporting units to ensure they are submitting complete data in a timely fashion, not only to assist in monitoring and reporting, but to facilitate effective contact tracing.

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Don’t forget, there is also a possibility COVID-19 deaths are underreported due to logistics issues and other problems created by the pandemic, as noted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

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That said, the data available right now show COVID-19 deaths are on the rise, and a significant portion of the fatalities involved were never given hospital care. Could this trend have been prevented if more cases were admitted to hospital?

What is the reason behind low hospital admissions for critical COVID-19 cases?

Could it be hospital capacity?

This chart as of August 22 shows hospitals are no longer as overstretched as they were earlier. The designated danger zone in terms of intensive care unit bed occupancy, based on beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients, is 70 percent.

NCR and Region 7 were at times above that threshold, which could explain why there was a spike in non-admitted COVID-19 deaths in June and July. But the hospitals in these regions are not at the critical level anymore.

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Hospital admissions for COVID-19 patients can certainly increase, and the government has already asked hospitals to increase their allotment of beds for COVID patients.

• As coronavirus cases rise, DOH orders hospitals to boost COVID-19 bed capacity

Could it be affordability?

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show 60 percent of all health expenditures by 60 year olds or older, the group that is most vulnerable to COVID-19, were out-of-pocket.

Forty percent came from either PhilHealth or other government or private health financing schemes including insurance and HMOs or Health Maintenance Organizations.

“Total health expenditures of P101.2 billion by vulnerable population 60 years old were paid through the out-of-pocket by households consisting of nearly 60 percent of the total health spending. The remaining 40 percent were financed by: a) social health insurance scheme (or the PhilHealth) at PhP 32.5 billion; b) domestic revenue-based or central government scheme at PhP 16.3 billion and c) other financing, e.g., HMOs, etc. at PhP 21.5 billion. (Table 4)”

PhilHealth is currently dealing with a controversial corruption scandal, and is having problems making payments. If COVID-19 patients have little confidence in the state run health insurance fund, they can’t be blamed.

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Households also are dealing with record-high unemployment rates, and the Philippine government has even been accused of insensitivity over its statements regarding this. This means COVID-19 patients likely don’t have the resources or insurance to pay for hospitalization.

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The cost of healthcare has also surged as simple check up appointments now require the use of costly personal protective equipment. Sadly, the World Health Organization has had to call out corrupt practices related to virus protection gear, branding this as murder.

• WHO brands corrupt practices around virus protection gear as 'murder'

Could it be fear of hospitals?

It is 2020, but believe it or not, there are people in the world who would rather die than face hospitalization. Based on historical information, it is common for people dealing with an unfamiliar disease to wait until the last possible moment before seeking medical attention. The inflicted simply don’t know enough about the disease they are fighting, and only seek help when it is too late.

• 'I'd rather stay home and die'

The COVID-19 Pandemic has certainly created a tough environment to survive in. The virus is infectious and deadly, stretching hospitals and healthcare professionals thin.

Quarantine conditions have erased jobs and diminished the capacity of households to pay for healthcare. Corruption related to profiteering on antivirus equipment and the state-run insurance fund PhilHealth has destroyed the public’s confidence in their spending power.

Nevertheless, the pandemic in the Philippines is now approaching its 7th month. Billions of pesos have been allocated for the fight against the disease. Philippine healthcare is more experienced than ever in handling COVID-19.

As a country, the Philippines should be able to save more lives from this virus. But it isn’t doing any good, because Filipinos aren’t getting admitted into hospitals.