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Metro Manila's COVID infection rate lowest since mid-December 2021 -- OCTA

Philippines | National

Metro Manila's COVID infection rate lowest since mid-December 2021 -- OCTA

By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz

(DR. GUIDO DAVID / TWITTER)

Metro Manila's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reproduction number or infection rate is now lower than in mid-December 2021 before the surge of cases driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, based on the monitoring of the OCTA Research Group on Wednesday, March 2.

In an update via Twitter, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said that Metro Manila's reproduction number, which refers to the average number of secondary infections by each infected individual, was at 0.22 during the Feb. 23-March 1 monitoring period.

David said that this is lower than Metro Manila's reproduction number of 0.39 during the "best week" covering the Dec. 10 to 16, 2021 period.

He also noted that Metro Manila's healthcare utilization from Feb. 23 to March 1 is "comparable with the HCUR (healthcare utilization rate) during the best week of the NCR on Dec. 10 to 16, 2021."

He added that the region's hospital bed occupancy rates--19 percent healthcare utilization and 24 percent intensive care utilization--are now approaching the lowest levels.

", the average daily attack rate and testing positivity rate are still currently higher compared to the best week but we expect this to continue to decrease," David pointed out.

OCTA's monitoring showed that Metro Manila's average daily cases from Feb. 23 to March 1, 2022, was 285 cases as compared to the 69 cases during the period covering Dec. 10 to 16, 2021.

David advised the public to continue to follow minimum public health protocols--the proper wearing of face masks, physical distancing, and washing of hands regularly--to sustain the downward trend.

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Metro Manila covid-19 OCTA Research Dr. Guido David

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