OCTA: Philippines' COVID-19 cases may dip to 500 daily by end-November

The COVID-19 cases in the country may go as low as 500 per day by the end of November if the downward trend of infection continues, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Monday.

In a public briefing, David said that if this happens, the cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) may decrease to 100 per day.

He pointed out the COVID-19 indicators in NCR are going down, with its seven-day case average now at 210 per day.

"Parang ito na 'yung pinakamababa since bago itong wave na ito, nung panahon ng eleksyon (This may be the lowest count in the current wave since the election period)," he said.

According to David, NCR's reproduction number also went down to 0.68, and its growth rate at -38%. Its average daily attack rate was also at 1.46 and healthcare utilization at 28%.

“Ako confident ako na magpapatuloy 'yung trend kasi ayun nga, mga kababayan natin, natuto na tayo na protektahan sarili natin. Hindi na natin kailangan magsara ng ekonomiya o ng tourism industry," he added.

(I am confident that the trend will continue because we have learned to protect ourselves. We don't need to shutdown the economy or the tourism industry.)

Aside from NCR, David said positivity rates are also declining in Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas.

The Philippines on Sunday recorded 1,010 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the active caseload down to 16,615.—AOL, GMA Integrated News