Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positive cases rate drops even further

VIRUS STILL HERE Pedestrians, many of them wearing face masks, cross Kamuning Road in Quezon City in this photo taken in September 2022. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

(Updated 4:50 p.m. to show exact percentages)

MANILA, Philippines  — Metro Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate decreased to 21.2 percent in the week ending May 28, 2023, down from 25.2 percent the previous week, Octa Research fellow Guido David said on Tuesday.

“The reproduction number decreased to 0.97 or less than one as of May 26,” he said on Twitter.

However, hospital occupancy went up slightly from 28.8 to 29.1 percent.

As infections decline in Metro Manila, spikes emerge in several Luzon provinces, with 10 out of 18 monitored areas continuing to surge, David said.

A significant increase occurred in Oriental Mindoro, where the positivity rate leaped from 33.3 percent to 55.6 percent between May 26 and May 27, 2023.

Major increases in percentages were observed in Bataan (21.4 to 38.4 percent), Tarlac (15.4 to 21.2 percent), and Cagayan (21.6 to 27.6 percent, while notable declines were seen in Isabela (67.4 to 46.4  percent), Laguna (35.7 to 29.1 percent), and Batangas (36.1 to 30.91 percent).

“Positivity rates decreased in Batangas, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, Laguna, Rizal and Zambales. Positivity rates remained high in most of Luzon,” David observed.

On May 29, 2023, the national COVID-19 positivity rate slightly dipped to 22.8 percent, as the Department of Health reported, with 1,385 new cases, of which 432 were recorded in Metro Manila.

“Projection of cases for [Wednesday]… (is) 800 to 900,” said David.

As of May 29, the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker reports the country’s total cases at 4,140,680, with 15,621 active cases, 4,058,593 recoveries, and 66,466 deaths.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire previously explained fluctuations in the number of infections are expected due to the lower number of tests conducted and the people’s increased mobility.

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APL/abc