File photo shows a woman undergoing a COVID-19 swab test at the UP-Philippine General Hospital in Manila. (INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON)
MANILA, Philippines — The COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila has dropped to three percent, which is well within the five-percent benchmark of the World Health Organization (WHO), OCTA Research said Thursday.
OCTA Research fellow Guido David revealed the figure a day after the Department of Health reported a 4.3 percent positivity rate nationwide.
“It is a milestone and it’s actually even better because in the NCR (National Capital Region), the positivity rate has dropped to three percent and although the WHO uses five percent as a benchmark, for the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) they actually recommend a three percent positivity rate,” he told ABS-CBN News Channel’s Rundown.
The positivity rate, or the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus among those tested, was previously at four percent in Metro Manila as of November 3.
COVID-19 vaccination at the Makati Coliseum (Image from Facebook / MyMakati)
David said the bigger volume of tests being conducted has contributed to the lower positivity rate.
“How did we get here? We’re doing more testing now than last year. Admittedly there are some, actually many regions or provinces where the positivity rate is high but these are smaller provinces,” he said.
“In the major metro areas, for example, Cebu City has a positivity rate of two percent, so that means we are actually testing enough and that is how we are getting the positivity rate down. We are testing enough and the cases are decreasing,” he added.