OCTA: NCR COVID-19 positivity rate down to 13.1%

The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region went down to 13.1% on December 20, according to independent group OCTA Research on Thursday.

In a tweet, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said the positivity rate in the NCR dropped from 14.5% on December 13 to 13.1% on December 20.

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

David said the reproduction number, which refers to the number of people infected by one case, also decreased to 0.91 in NCR. A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.

“The 7-day average of new cases decreased from 447 to 404, a growth rate of -10%,” David said.

The Department of Health on Wednesday logged 823 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's case total to 4,058,465.

According to DOH data, Wednesday's new case tally is higher than Tuesday's 626, an increase after four straight days of decreasing new cases.

Nationwide COVID-19 bed occupancy is at 21.7%, with 6,011 beds occupied and 21,708 vacant. —Richa Noriega/KBK, GMA Integrated News