Covid positivity rate in NCR dips

NCR Covid-19 positivity rate. PHOTO BY OCTA

(UPDATED) OCTA Research said the Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) dropped by 1.1 percent from August 6 to August 12.

In a tweet on Sunday, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David noted that the drop from 17.5 to 16.4 percent on August 12 was the first time that the positivity rate had dipped since the cases spiked this year.

“It gives us optimism that cases in NCR may have already peaked,” Guido said.

From August 7 to 12, daily Covid cases in the NCR or Metro Manila averaged at around 1,271, based on data extracted by OCTA Research from the Department of Health's (DoH) website.

The number of cases was highest on August 7 at 1,530 and lowest at 828 on August 9. It moved up again from 1,110 on August 10 to 1,489 on August 12.

Similarly, the reproduction number, or the number of people who could be infected by someone with Covid, also dropped to 1.17.

OCTA earlier said the decline in the growth rate and reproduction number boosts the hope that the cases could peak by the third week of August.

It also noted a slight rise in the seven-day average in Metro Manila at 1.275 or an average daily attack rate (ADAR) of 8.85 per 100,000.

David emphasized that any trend has to be sustained for about a week before a downcurve in Covid-19 cases can be confirmed.

DoH Officer in Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire acknowledged during a media briefing last Friday that Covid-19 cases in the NCR were slightly dropping, but added that the region's moderate-risk classification had not changed.

Vergeire also noted that while many areas in the Philippines continued to experience an uptick in cases, those in most of Luzon and the Visayas had reached a plateau.

DoH reported a national daily average of 4,025 cases, with the national Covid-19 positivity rate at 18.5 percent. Admissions in the intensive care unit (ICU) and severe and critical cases remain below 1,000 despite a slight increase.

The Health department continued to encourage the public to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Individuals who have completed their primary shots are eligible for a first booster dose.

Senior citizens, frontline health workers, immunocompromised individuals, adults ages 50 and above, and those ages 18 to 49 with comorbidities are eligible for a second booster.