COVID-19 growth rate in Metro Manila 'flat' in the past 9 days, says OCTA

Independent research group OCTA observed a "nearly flat" coronavirus disease (COVID-19) growth rate in Metro Manila in the last nine days.
"With 660 new cases in the NCR (National Capital Region) reported by the DOH (Department of Health), the seven-day average is 955," OCTA research fellow Dr. Guido David said in a tweet on Friday evening, Oct. 29.
"The seven-day average has been on a flat trend over the past nine days," he added.
David also noted that the one-week growth rate has decreased to just -4 percent while the reproduction number was at 0.55.
The OCTA expert attributed the flat trend to case backlogs.
"The backlog disrupted the patterns. The next few days should indicate if it is going to go down, stay level, or reverse to an uptrend," David said.
"But it is possible the downward trend has slowed down," he added.
The DOH on Oct. 29 reported 3,439 additional cases that were uploaded from Sept. 29 to Oct. 18 in the COVID-19 Document Repository System but were only pushed to COVIDKAYA on Oct. 27.
"This issue is continuously being addressed by DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) to generate and provide updated and complete case information," the DOH said in a statement.
The DOH and OCTA continued to advise the public to remain vigilant and to strictly follow the health protocols despite the decrease in COVID-19 cases.