Philippine COVID-19 reproduction number down to 0.96 —OCTA

COVID-19 reproduction number in the entire Philippines has dropped to 0.96 from 0.98, according to OCTA Research on Wednesday.

"Reproduction number in the country decreased to 0.96 as of 9/28," said OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David on Twitter.

The Philippines' reproduction number was at 0.98 on September 26.

Reproduction number refers to the number of people that one COVID-19 case can infect. A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

In the same tweet, David said new cases in the Philippines averaged 17,293 from September 22 to 28, while the growth rate was at -11% compared to the September 15-21 period.

"The downward trend is more defined now," David said, but stressed that "hospitals remain at high capacity in many of the affected areas."

"While NCR Plus is on a downward trend, the surge is still happening in many other provinces," David said.

NCR Plus covers Metro Manila and the provinces of Laguna, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal.

According to the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, the Philippines has returned to a moderate-risk classification due to the declining number of COVID-19 cases.

The country had been under high-risk classification for more than a month prior to this development.

Nine regions remained high-risk areas for COVID-19, namely Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 1, 2, 4B, 5, 6, 9, 12, and Caraga.  —KBK, GMA News