MANILA, Philippines —Metro Manila saw a surge in its seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, rising from a meager 2.1 percent to 3 percent within a week from March 8 to March 15, as reported by Octa Research Group on Friday.
Octa Research fellow Guido David pointed to a “rising” movement in the National Capital Region’s positivity rate, which measures the percentage of people who test positive among those tested for COVID-19.
“At this time, I expect it to increase further but not to the levels seen in 2022,” he said in a social media post.
7-day positivity rate in NCR has been rising. It was 3% on March 15 2023, up from 2.1% on March 8. At this time, I expect it to increase further but not to the levels seen in 2022 #COVID19 #COVID @dzbb @DZAR1026 @dzrhnews @dwiz882 @ali_sotto @AthenaImperial_ @allangatus pic.twitter.com/81Id53XWCB
— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) March 17, 2023
However, the 3 percent positivity rate still lingers beneath the crucial 5 percent threshold established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO has expressed hope to lift the global health emergency declaration on COVID-19 in 2023 or more than three years since the pandemic broke out.