MANILA, Philippines — The number of people who tested positive for COVID in Metro Manila has slightly increased, with the OCTA Research Group saying it might be linked to social gatherings during the holiday season.
From the record low of 0.62 positivity rate from Dec. 12 to 18, OCTA fellow Guido David said it slightly increased to 0.77 from Dec. 16 to 22.
The rate, which measures the number of positive results out of the total tests conducted, is still well within the five percent or below benchmark set by the World Health Organization.
In its report last Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) said 1.1 percent of the 32,118 tests conducted last Dec. 21 tested positive, up from 0.9 percent of the 29,577 tests conducted the day before.
David said the uptick in the positivity rate in Metro Manila “may be dismissed as merely an effect of the holidays.”
“My interpretation at this time is that we are seeing a holiday uptick due to increased number of social gatherings, and this is not a cause for panic, but we must continue to follow public health standards while enjoying the holidays,” he said.
“On the other hand, this could also be the beginning of a change in the trend. Unfortunately, due to decreased testing over the holiday season, we will be unable to have a clear picture of the situation until the first week of January 2022,” he added.
DOH data showed that 95 new cases were reported in Metro Manila last Thursday, up from 80 on Wednesday and 47 on Tuesday.
Between Dec. 14 and 20, the region recorded an average of 78 new cases per day, down six percent from the preceding week.
Using indicators during this period, OCTA classified the region as “very low risk” using the metrics of covidactnow.org.