Octa projects PH daily COVID cases to shrink to 1K to 2K by end-February

GOOD BOYS  Two young men get their first jabs at SM Megamall during the National Vaccination Day on Nov. 29. The government will launch its pediatric vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 on February 14 in a bid to further curb the coronavirus pandemic. —NIñO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Independent analytics group Octa Research on Sunday projected daily COVID-19 cases in the country to further decrease to 1,000 to 2,000 by the end of February.

Octa Research fellow Guido David said that the country’s current daily average of COVID-19 cases is at 8,422.

“The number of new COVID-19 cases around the country continues to decrease. As of February 1 to 5, the daily average was 8,422 new cases, down from 17,025 as of January 25 to 31,” David said on Twitter.

PH daily average down to 8422 new cases. This projects to 1 to 2k by end of February. Public is advised to continue observing health protocols. @dzbb @allangatus @dzrhnews @DZAR1026 @NewsRmn @dwiz882 @dzme_1530khz @ali_sotto @PhilstarNews @News5PH @PHINewsNet1 @RMMendozaMT pic.twitter.com/cYdHr4j90z

— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) February 6, 2022

“The current trends project to a decrease to 4,000 to 5,000 cases per day by Valentine’s day and 1,000 to 2,000 by end of February,” he pointed out.

In Manila, Octa said only 877 cases were recorded, equivalent to 11 percent of the 7,689 fresh infections recorded nationwide on February 5.

As of February 2, the country’s reproduction number dropped to 0.55 from January 26’s 0.93.

The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate likewise declined from 34 percent to 24 percent.

Hospital bed occupancy stood at 40 percent from 49 percent.

The country’s total COVID-19 caseload breached  3,601,471, although its classification has already been upgraded to moderate risk from being high risk last month due to the surge of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

EDV