NCR COVID-19 positivity rate breaches 5% mark —OCTA

COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) continued to increase throughout the first week of April, hitting 6.5% on Saturday, according to independent monitoring group OCTA Research on Monday.

OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said the NCR’s positivity rate — or the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested — rose from 4.4% on April 1, to 6.5% on April 8.

Other areas seen surpassing the 5% benchmark set by the World Health Organization (WHO) were Benguet, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Cebu, Davao del Sur, Isabela, Misamis Oriental, Negros Occidental, Palawan, Rizal, and South Cotabato.

Last week, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the increasing number of new COVID-19 cases in the country is still insignificant as hospital utilization remained low and manageable.

The Philippines recorded 177 new COVID-19 cases nationwide on Easter Sunday, the lowest tally in four days. This brought the active caseload down to 9,493.

NCR still logged the most number of new infections among all regions in the last two weeks at 1,065. It was followed by Davao Region with 385, Northern Mindanao with 335, Calabarzon with 328, and Central Visayas with 172. —Giselle Ombay/KBK, GMA Integrated News