Six provinces in the country have been classified by the OCTA Research group under very low-risk level for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
These areas are Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, Davao del Sur, Cebu, and Laguna, according to the group’s monitoring report issued on Thursday, Nov. 18, which listed 20 provinces with most cases from Nov. 11 to 17.
All areas under very low-risk level had negative one-week growth rates in cases, as well as low-risk reproduction numbers that ranged between 1.59 to as low as 0.62.
OCTA also reported that the healthcare utilization and intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rates in these areas stood within the range of 20 to 30 percent, while positivity rates were at around 1 to 3 percent.
The group explained that the risk levels were determined using metrics based on covidactnow.org.
In the report, there were eight provinces under low-risk level for COVID-19, including the National Capital Region (NCR).
Other areas are Negros Occidental, Zamboanga del Sur, Benguet, South Cotabato, Pangasinan, Iloilo, and Batangas.
Meanwhile, there were six areas classified under moderate-risk level for COVID-19, namely: Negros Oriental, Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, and Oriental Mindoro.
OCTA noted that ICU occupancy rates in Negros Oriental (75 percent) and Cagayan (72 percent) were at high-risk levels.
Moreover, the positivity rates in Negros Oriental (30 percent), Isabela (25 percent), Cagayan (22 percent), and Palawan (27 percent) were are critical-risk levels.