Metro Manila positivity rate down to 2.9%

MANILA, Philippines — The percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the National Capital Region (NCR) has further decreased to 2.9 percent, a member of OCTA Research said yesterday.

OCTA fellow Guido David said the region’s latest seven-day positivity rate, which dropped from 4.7 percent on Jan. 11, was well below the five percent recommended by the World Health Organization.

The daily average number of cases in NCR also dropped to 103 on Jan. 19, from 166 the previous week.

However, David pointed out that RT-PCR testing in the region dropped to just 38 per 100,000 people daily in the past week, the lowest since 2020.

With more Filipinos relying on antigen tests to determine their status, OCTA earlier said that the actual number of positive cases is higher than the official data released by the Department of Health (DOH).

Nevertheless, it said that various indicators, including the positivity rate of RT-PCR tests, may still be used to determine case trends. Latest data showed that hospital occupancy in NCR remained low at 24 percent, while intensive care unit utilization was at 19 percent.

The DOH recorded 251 new COVID infections yesterday, bringing the number of active cases nationwide to 10,863.

For the past two weeks, Metro Manila led the number with 1,626 cases, followed by Calabarzon with 812 and Central Luzon with 414 cases. In the provinces, Cagayan Valley recorded 336 cases and those in Western Visayas, 279 cases.

The DOH also reported that a total of 32,228,628 individuals underwent COVID-19 testing. Already included here are the 11,142 individuals who were tested last Jan. 18.– Rhodina Villanueva