MANILA: COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila are rising, with OCTA Research flagging Friday an uptick in the number of infections in the capital region, which it still classifies as “low risk” for the disease (pic).
In a new report, the private research group that has been analyzing government data on the pandemic said the daily average of new Covid-19 cases in the region increased by 19% on May 13 to May 19 compared to the previous week from just 59 cases to 71.
The average number of new cases for every 100,000 people also increased to 0.50 from 0.42, along with the reproduction number, or the measure of how infectious a disease is, which spiked to 0.90 from 0.76 in the past week.
The positivity rate, or the ratio of people testing positive over the total number of tests conducted, remained at 1.2%, which is well below the World Health Organization’s 5% threshold for reopening.
Healthcare utilization rate remained at 22%, but the occupancy of intensive care units slightly increased to 20% from 19% last week.
The Department of Health confirmed Tuesday the local transmission of the BA.2.12.1 Omicron sub-variant in Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and Western Visayas, prompting fears that the country would see yet another uptick in coronavirus cases.
As this developed, the government rolled out second boosters for senior citizens and healthcare workers to protect them from severe disease caused by Covid-19.
