NCR COVID-19 positivity rate down to 7.4% —OCTA

The COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila has decreased to 7.4% "but could be plateauing," OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said on Thursday.

"The seven-day positivity rate for COVID in the NCR decreased slightly from 7.8% as of November 8, 2022 to 7.4% as of November 15. The slower rate of decrease indicates a plateauing of the trend," David said in a tweet.

"While less than 5% positivity rate is still attainable if the downtrend continues, there is a possibility that the positivity rate will remain above this level," David added.

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

Despite this development, David said there is also the possibility that an uptick could happen soon.

Meanwhile, he said the reproduction number in the region increased from 0.83 as of November 6 to 1.02 as of November 13.

The 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.

On the other hand, the weekly growth rate increased from -18% to 11% as new cases increased from 240 to 268.

"Note that this observed spike in cases is mainly due to lower testing volume due to the recent holiday. Hospital utilization remained very low and the NCR remains at low risk this time," David said.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health recorded 810 fresh COVID-19 infections in the country, the lowest daily tally in nearly two weeks. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA Integrated News