NCR reproduction number down to 0.57 —OCTA

COVID-19 reproduction number in the National Capital Region (NCR) further went down to 0.57, slightly lower than the 0.58 earlier recorded, OCTA Research said Monday.

Reproduction rate refers to the number of people infected by one case. A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

In a tweet, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David noted that the NCR recorded 1,159 new cases on Sunday, the lowest since July 28.

Meanwhile, the seven-day average in NCR also decreased to 1,448 while its positivity rate decreased to 9%.

“The last time positivity rate was at 9% was from July 23 to July 29,” David said.

According to David, the current average daily attack rate is 10.23 per 100,000 of the population.

The hospital occupancy in NCR is at 44% while the ICU occupancy rate was at 59%.

Dr. Rontgene Solante, an infectious disease expert, on Sunday urged the public not to be complacent as the utilization rate of ICU in hospitals is still high despite the decrease in COVID-19 cases.

The country registered 6,913 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the country's total caseload to 2,720,368, according to the Department of Health on Sunday.

OCTA Research earlier said based on the trend, the Philippines may have around 5,000 to 6,000 daily new COVID-19 cases by the end of October. —KBK, GMA News