COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila up 7.2% – OCTA

MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region and several provinces recorded higher COVID positivity rates in the past week, the independent monitoring group OCTA Research reported yesterday.

OCTA fellow Guido David said the seven-day COVID positivity rate or the number of people who tested positive for the virus in Metro Manila slightly increased from 6.5 percent on April 8 to 7.2 percent on April 15.

Three provinces registered COVID positivity rates of more than 20 percent, according to David.

Misamis Oriental posted a COVID positivity rate of 22.7 percent in the past seven days. Camarines Sur and Rizal logged 21.1 percent and 20.2 percent positivity rates, respectively.

OCTA said other provinces with increasing COVID positivity rates are Benguet (from 6.3 percent to 8.9 percent), Bulacan (from 3 percent to 3.9 percent), Cavite (from 8.7 percent to 9.4 percent), Cebu (from 7.7 percent to 9.7 percent), Laguna (from 4.9 percent to 7.9 percent), Pampanga (from 3.6 percent to 5.3 percent), Pangasinan (from 2.7 percent to 3 percent) and Zamboanga del Sur (from 4.3 percent to 7 percent).

David said Metro Manila recorded the most number of new COVID infections in the last two weeks with 1,344 cases.

The Department of Health on Sunday posted 443 new COVID cases, bringing to 9,569 the active cases nationwide.

The country’s COVID positivity rate stood at 7.4 percent, according to OCTA.