The Philippines is still classified as "moderate risk" for the coronavirus disease as the daily incidence rate remains above 1 during the June 27-July 3 period, OCTA Research said in a special report released on Sunday, July 4.

Using the US Covid Act Now indicator, OCTA said the Philippines' daily incidence, or the level of risk based on a seven-day average number of daily new cases per 100,000 population, was 5.06, which is considered "moderate."

"While this assessment does not match those of CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) exactly, both sources regard incidence of less than 1 as low risk," said OCTA research fellows Guido, David, Erika Enriquez, and Ranjit S. Rye.

Based on Covid Act Now's indicators, an incidence of below 1 is considered low as it is on track for containment; 1-10 is considered medium or moderate; 10-25 is considered high; 25-75 is very high; and over 75 is considered severe.

Meanwhile, CDC said the level of risk is low if incidence is less than 1.79; between 1.79 and 3.57 is moderate; between 3.57 and 17.86 is high; and more than 17.86 is very high.

Incidence rate is referred to as average daily attack rate or ADAR by the Department of Health (DOH).

In a DOH briefing on July 2, DOH said the ADAR nationwide was at 5.42, classifying the Philippines as "low-risk" for COVID-19.

OCTA acknowledged that the DOH uses its own metrics to assess the risk level of the country.

Using Covid Act Now's metrics, OCTA pointed out that aside from daily new cases, infection rate, and positive test rate, three additional metrics--ICU capacity used, percent vaccinated, and vulnerability--also reflect an area’s ability to protect itself and cope with the pandemic

Covid Act Now uses risk metrics developed together with Harvard Global Health Institute and Harvard Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, with collaborations from Bloomberg, Apple, Microsoft, among others.