Metro Manila's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reproduction number, or the average number of secondary infections by each infected individual, dropped further to 0.50, the independent research group OCTA said on Saturday, Jan. 29.
In a tweet, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David noted that the decrease in daily reported cases has slowed down but is still tracking below the projections issued by OCTA on Jan. 20.
"While the decrease in new cases in the NCR has slowed down, as can be observed by the nearly flat trend of the past four days, the reproduction number decreased to 0.50 while the one-week growth rate was -69 percent," David said.
Citing the data of the Department of Health, David said that Metro Manila on Friday, Jan. 28, reported 2,256 COVID-19 cases--the lowest daily number since Dec. 31, 2021, when cases were starting to surge in Metro Manila.
Moreover, the region registered a seven-day positivity rate of 21 percent, which is lower than the previous week.
David said that Metro Manila's risk classification is "expected to improve to moderate risk by Jan. 29," based on the internationally-developed COVID Act Now indicators.
"A low-risk classification will depend on how quickly cases decrease below 1,000 per day," he added.
However, David reminded the public to continue to strictly comply with health protocols to "sustain the downward momentum."