MANILA, Philippines – A spike in COVID-19 cases was observed in Rizal province with its one week growth rate at 47 percent, independent pandemic monitor OCTA Research said Monday.

According to OCTA Research fellow Guido David, this is a notable increase from its previous one week growth rate of -15 percent.

“Rizal reported 228 new COVID-19 cases on September 9, 2022. This was higher than its previous peak of 203 during the current wave,” he said in a tweet.

David explained that the seven-day average of new COVID-19 infections in the province increased from 84 on August 29 through September 4 to 124 on September 5 through September 11.

He added that Rizal’s reproduction number likewise rose from 0.90 as of September 1 to 1.25 as of September 8.

“The positivity rate in Rizal increased from 12 percent as of September 3 to 17.4 percent as of September 10. The increase in positivity rate indicates that the spike is not due to backlog,” he added.

He, however, pointed out that the average daily attack rate remained low at 3.73, while healthcare utilization for COVID-19 cases was moderate at 50.8 percent.

Occupancy in the intensive care units of the province was also low at five percent, he shared.

The Department of Health recorded 2,230 new COVID-19 cases and 16 new deaths on Sunday. The nationwide positivity rate from September 4 to 10 is at 12.3 percent, slightly under the 12.4 percent from the previous week.

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