Metro Manila is back in its track after its one-week growth rate for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases improved anew, the OCTA Research group said Thursday, Nov. 18.
OCTA fellow Prof. Guido David said the average daily new cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) decreased to 379 for the week of Nov. 11 to 17, for a growth rate of -7 percent.
In comparison, David said the region had an average of 407 new infections per day for the period of Nov. 4 to 10.
“A few days ago, the NCR recorded a positive weekly growth rate. This was likely due to backlog in cases,” he said.
Cases, positivity rate seen to further dip
OCTA said the average daily COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila is estimated to decrease to 200 by the end of November.
This is because the region’s positivity rate is projected to hit 2 percent this week.
David said the reproduction number in the metropolis was at 0.5 as of Nov. 14, while the positivity rate of for the period of Nov. 10 to 16 was at 3 percent.
The region’s positivity rate remains within the 5 percent benchmark set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The positivity rate is projected to improve to 2 percent this week,” David said.
“With such a low positivity rate, we project the NCR will continue to have a decline in new cases, with a target seven-day average of 200 new cases by the end of November,” he added.
While the pandemic situation in the capital region is seen to further improve, OCTA reminded the public not to let their guard down and continue observing the minimum public health standards.