MANILA, Philippines — Five provinces have registered “very high” or more than 20 percent COVID-19 positivity rates, independent analytics group Octa Research reported on Sunday.
Based on the World Health Organization’s standard, the positivity rate should be five percent or less.
READ: Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate breaches WHO benchmark
The following are the provinces with “very high” positivity rates as of July 15:
Laguna – 22.5 percent
Nueva Ecija – 22.9 percent
Pampanga – 23.5 percent
Tarlac – 27.5 percent
Aklan – 31.9 percent
Octa Research fellow Dr. Guido David urged residents in the said areas to take caution to avoid contracting COVID-19.
“In provinces where the positivity rate is very high, i.e. above 20%, the public is strongly advised to practice necessary caution to prevent Covid infection,” he said on Twitter.
Positivity rates in select areas in the PH. NCR positivity rate as of July 15 was 12.6%, up from 10.9% as of July 9. In provinces where the positivity rate is very high, i.e. above 20%, the public is strongly advised to practice necessary caution to prevent Covid infection. pic.twitter.com/7uzOqaVidj
— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) July 17, 2022
Meanwhile, Metro Manila — where most of the new COVID-19 infections are — posted a 12.6 positivity rate.
The figure is higher compared to the 10.9 percent recorded in the capital region on July 9.
READ: National COVID-19 positivity rate now at 10.9% – OCTA
Nationally, the country’s positivity rate is at 9.5 percent, the Department of Health said last week.
To date, the country has 18,990 active COVID-19 cases.
READ: PH logs over 2,000 daily COVID-19 cases for 3rd straight day
Despite the influx of COVID-19 infections, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire noted that all areas in the country are still at “low risk” as severe and critical infections, as well as the average daily attack rate, are low.