OCTA’s David: Aklan COVID-19 positivity rate climbs to 35%; NCR still at 12.6%

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Aklan province further increased to 35% on Saturday, while that of the National Capital Region (NCR) remained at 12.6%, independent monitoring group OCTA Research reported.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David showed data that Aklan’s one-week positivity rate went up to 35% from 26.9% on July 9.

Positivity rates in select areas in the PH. NCR positivity rate as of July 16 was 12.6%, up from 10.9% as of July 9. Especially In provinces where positivity rates are very high (above 20%), the public is strongly advised to practice necessary caution to prevent Covid infection. pic.twitter.com/tVWwJPVFTD

— Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) July 18, 2022

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

Aside from Aklan, other provinces that recorded a “very high” positivity rate above 20% were Tarlac with 27.6%, Pampanga with 23.1%, Laguna with 22.6%, and Nueva Ecija with 21%.

NCR

Meanwhile, NCR’s positivity rate increased to 12.6% from the 10.9% recorded on July 9.

As of July 15, NCR’s positivity rate was already at 12.6%.

Based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) recent data, NCR logged the most COVID-19 infections in the past two weeks at 9,713.

Other areas seen surpassing the 5% benchmark of the World Health Organization on July 16 were Antique, Bataan, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Cagayan, Capiz, Cavite, Cebu, Davao del Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, Pangasinan, and Rizal, according to OCTA. 

Despite the rising numbers, David said they are not yet seeing anything alarming as long as the healthcare utilization in the country does not exceed over 50%.

The bed occupancy rate in the country on Sunday was at 22.8%, with 6,660 beds occupied out of the 29,223.

David also said they are hoping that the peak in COVID-19 infections will happen within the week so that the public can proceed with their daily activities once the cases go down.

“We were initially projecting na magkakaron na ng peak around this time. Hindi pa natin nakikita ‘yung peak pero may possibility naman na mag-peak siya within the next seven days and sana mag-peak na nga siya sa Metro Manila,” he said in an interview on GTV’s Balitanghali.

(We were initially projecting that there would be a peak around this time. We have not seen the peak yet, but there is a possibility that it will peak within the next seven days and hopefully it will already peak in Metro Manila.)

The Philippines on Sunday recorded 2,560 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide active caseload to 19,873. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News