COVID-19 positivity rate in NCR continues to decline — OCTA Research

FILE PHOTO: A vendor at Pritil Public Market gets a free swab test amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tondo, Manila, Philippines, October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

MANILA, Philippines — The positivity rate for the coronavirus disease 2019 in Metro Manila continues to decline, OCTA Research said in its latest monitoring report.

“A significant finding of this monitoring report is the continued decline in the positivity rate in the NCR which is now at 4% (down from 5%),” the group said in its report dated Monday but released to the media on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization recommends that the positivity rate should remain below five percent.

The positivity rate is the percentage of those who tested positive for the new coronavirus out of the total number of individuals tested.

According to OCTA Research, the reproduction number in the country for COVID-19 also decreased from the previous 0.87 to 0.81 and remains below 1 for the period of November 9 to 15.

The reproduction number in Metro Manila also decreased from the previous 0.82 to 0.71 and remains below 1 for the same period.

Meanwhile, hospital occupancy for total regular and intensive care unit COVID-19 beds remains below critical level for most of the local government units in Metro Manila, according to the research group.

“Be that as it may, the NCR continues to be the epicenter for the Covid-19 virus in the country. But significant outbreaks have now occurred all around the country,” OCTA Research added, citing nine areas which it classified as high-risk or LGUs of concern.

OCTA Research is an independent and interdisciplinary research group composed primarily of faculty members and alumni from the University of the Philippines. Contributors from the University of Santo Tomas and Providence College in the United States are also part of its team.

JPV