Independent research group OCTA has expressed concern over the "very high" coronavirus disease (COVID-19) positivity rate monitored in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan over the past week.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said the high positivity rate could be due to the limited testing capacity in the city.

"May pagtaas sa labas ng NCR (National Capital Region). Yung Puerto Princesa ang positivity rate nila nasa 77 percent dahil kulang sila sa testing," David said in an interview with Teleradyo on Monday, May 17.

(There is an increase outside the NCR. Puerto Princesa has a positivity rate of 77 percent because they lack the testing capacity).

"Mukhang kinakapos yung testing nila dun kasi dati hindi naman sila nagkakasurge. Sobrang taas ng positivity rate eh. Kumbaga sa NCR 12 percent na lang ang positivity rate ngayon. Pero sa Puerto Princesa 77 percent. Pag may 100 na nagpatest parang halos eight out of 10 nagpa-positive," he added.

(It looks like they have insufficient testing there because they didn't have a surge before. The positivity rate is too high. In NCR, the positivity rate is now only 12 percent but in Puerto Princesa, it's 77 percent. If there are 100 people who are tested, it means that there is almost eight out of 10 people that test positive for the disease).

David pointed out that the average daily number of new COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila has gone down to less than 1,500 over the past week.

"Dun sa natatala nating mga 6,000 per day actually kumokonti din ang proportion ng NCR. Talagang bumababa. Dati kasi halos kalahati galing sa NCR nung nakaka-10,000 tayo. Ngayon sa 6,000 parang 25 percent na lang yung galing sa NCR so nasa 1,500," he explained.

(From the 6,000 per day that is recorded in the country, the proportion of cases in NCR is actually decreasing. It has been continuously declining. It used to be almost half from NCR when we were recording 10,000 cases. But now, out of 6,000, only 25 percent are from NCR, so there are just 1,500 cases).

David said that the average daily attack rate in Metro Manila has already declined, with seven local government units now considered "moderate risk" under the classification of the Department of Health.

"Pababa yung bilang ng kaso nila at sana patuloy pa rin ang pagbaba. Importante wag muna tayo magpakasaway andiyan pa rin ang virus. Pwede pa ring tumaas ulit ang kaso," he said.

(The number of cases is going down and hopefully, it will continue to go down. It is important that we do not become too complacent because the virus is still here. If we become complacent, our cases could increase again).