MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Thursday its online platform for tracking the spread of the coronavirus in the country will be inaccessible to the public over the next few days and will be re-launched after introducing some enhancements.

In a statement, the DOH said it is busy completing all encoding backlogs and “harmonizing” information, making their online tracker (https://ncovtracker.doh.gov.ph/) inaccessible from April 8 until April 11.

The website will reopen on Sunday, April 12, with updated graphs and charts, the DOH said. Academics and researchers can also download data sets of anonymous patients to help them with their analyses once the tracker goes up online again, it added.

“We recognize that this is a time when information about COVID-19 transmission is vital,” the DOH said.

“Rest assured that your DOH will continue to publish case bulletins daily and will remain open to answering your questions,” it added.

The highly contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected a total of 3,870 in the country as of Wednesday afternoon. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral