Independent research group OCTA on Monday, May 31, flagged seven provinces as "areas of concern" due to the rising number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in these areas during the May 24-30 period.
The areas of concern include the provinces of Isabela, Cagayan, Iloilo, Misamis Oriental, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, and Camarines Sur.
Among these areas, Isabela had the highest seven-day growth rate at 149 percent, followed by Cagayan at 118 percent.
OCTA also flagged Camarines Sur and Palawan for having the highest positivity rates at 73 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
"The high positivity rates in Camarines Sur and Palawan indicates that more testing is needed in these provinces," it said in the report.
During the May 24-30 period, OCTA said the country's average number of new cases was 6,259--an increase of 22 percent from the previous week.
The country's COVID-19 reproduction number was 1.02.
Meanwhile, OCTA noted that the decrease in new cases in the NCR (National Capital Region) Plus has slowed down.
The NCR alone showed a growth rate of just negative (-) 1 percent as compared with -23 percent, -27 percent, and -36 percent during the previous weeks.
Cavite and Laguna, however, had slight increases in new COVID-19 cases.
Likewise, the reproduction number in NCR has increased to 0.69 from 0.5.