NCR's COVID-19 reproduction number slips further to 1.03 —OCTA

The National Capital Region's COVID-19 reproduction number continues to improve, according to the latest report of the OCTA Research group.

On Wednesday, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David reported that NCR's reproduction number decreased to 1.03 for the period covering September 15 to 21.

Reproduction number refers to the number of people that each case can infect.

The one-week growth rate, meanwhile, was at -18%, David said on Twitter.

"The decrease in new cases in NCR continues. The 7-day average in new caes is 4,784 (from 9.15 to 9.21), with one-week growth rate of -18%," David said.

He added that the 1.03 reproduction number in the NCR has an error range of +/-0.05.

"There are still some backlog in the reports, but the error margin accounts for this," he said. "Let's hope and pray this trend continues."

At a forum on Tuesday, David said the Philippines could possibly be in the last stages of its battle against the Delta coronavirus variant, especially in Metro Manila, amid the decrease in the reproduction number.

David said the recent number of cases in Metro Manila and nearby regions has started to decline, indicating that actual cases are falling in line with the downtrend predicted this month.

NCR is under Alert Level 4, under which select businesses have been allowed to resume operations at a limited capacity.

The Philippines on Tuesday reported 16,361 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the country’s active cases to 171,142. The total caseload now stands at 2,401,916 which includes 2,193,700 recoveries and 37,074 deaths. —KBK, GMA News