COVID-19 cases in NCR drop by 18% - OCTA fellow


The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Metro Manila decreased by 18 percent compared to the previous week, a member of OCTA Research said Sunday, May 2.

(JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Ngayon, pababa na talaga ‘yung bilang ng kaso. Sa NCR, bumaba (Right now, the number of cases is really going down. In NCR, it decreased) by 18 percent compared to the previous week,” OCTA Research fellow Professor Guido David said in an interview over DZBB.

“Saka ‘yung pinakamataas natin, 5,500, compared to that, bumaba na tayo ng mga 43 percent sa NCR, compared sa peak ng surge (Our highest, 5,500, compared to that, we have dropped by about 43 percent in NCR, compared to the peak of the surge),” he added.

Citing their latest monitoring report, David said that the number of infections in Navotas City decreased by 76 percent compared to the number of cases recorded in the city during the peak of the surge last month.

He pointed out that there has been a decline in the positivity rate in Metro Manila, which is now at 17 percent, as well as in the hospital utilization rate.

Despite this improvement in the situation, the OCTA fellow reminded the public not to let their guard down as the number of daily cases is still high.

“So ibig sabihin kahit pababa siya, marami pa rin ‘yung bilang ng kaso kaya hindi pa panahon para maging kampante tayo at hindi na mag ingat (So it means that even it’s going down, there are still a lot of cases so it is not yet time for us to be complacent and careless),” he said.

“In fact, dapat ngayon mas lalo tayong mag ingat para tuluyan nating mapababa ‘yung bilang ng kaso (we must be more careful now so that we can further to reduce the number of cases),” he added.

David said the reproduction number of COVID-19 in the region was at 0.83 as of the previous week, while the daily average number of cases in the metropolis was at 3,144 cases, as of May 1.