OCTA: ‘Very high’ COVID-19 positivity rates seen in 5 Vis-Min areas

Five provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao have recorded above 20% or “very high” COVID-19 positivity rates in the recent week, independent monitoring group OCTA Research said Monday.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said that Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Capiz, and Negros Oriental all logged more than 20% one-week positivity rates since July 23 to July 30.

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

Capiz posted the highest positivity rate in the Vis-Min regions as of Saturday with 51.2%, a huge jump from the 30.6% on July 23.

It was followed by Aklan with 36.9% positivity rate, Antique with 28.7%, Bohol with 28.2%, and Negros Oriental with 27.6%.

In Luzon, fourteen areas namely Albay, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, La Union, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales also recorded “very high” positivity rates as of July 29.

Despite this, David on Sunday said the COVID-19 cases nowadays are not very fatal, especially if the infected individual is fully vaccinated. He also explained that the increase in cases does not translate to an increase in hospitalization rate.

The Philippines on Sunday recorded 4,159 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the active caseload to 33,622. — Giselle Ombay/RSJ, GMA News