COVID-19 cases are again rising and the UP OCTA Research Group noted ‘very high positivity’ rates in 15 provinces in Luzon and 5 in the Visayas. Quezon City was placed under moderate risk by the Department of Health.
Early this year, the country was confident that it had licked the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 reaching levels of below 200 per day in infections. But now, the numbers have gone up to over 4,000 infections a day, though dismissed as milder than the original viral strain is still pervasive and can spread fast.
UP-based OCTA Research noted ‘very high’ positivity rates of above 20 percent in 15 to 20 provinces namely Albay, Benguet, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, La Union, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Tarlac and Zambales.
In the Visayas, those with ‘very high positivity rates’ are Aklan, Bohol, Capiz and Negros Oriental also recorded “very high” positivity rates. David noted the positivity rate in Capiz—at 64 percent—was “almost as high as its peak in January 2022.”
Meanwhile, the positivity rate in Metro Manila rose to 17.5% from 15.5%.
OCTA Research fellow Guido David said the highest recorded was in Camarines Sur at 48.7 percent followed by Isabela (47.6 percent), Tarlac (41.9 percent), Nueva Ecija (38.4 percent), Pampanga (35 percent), and Laguna (33.2 percent).
Cagayan registered a 30.5 percent positivity rate, followed by La Union(29.4 percent),Zambales (28.6 percent), Albay (28.2 percent),Quezon (25.1 percent), Pangasinan (25 percent), Benguet (22 percent), Cavite (21.1 percent) and Rizal (18.8 percent).
He also reported that the positivity rate in Metro Manila also increased from 15.5 percent on August 30 to 17.5 percent as of August 6.
Positivity rate refers to the percentage of infected people out of all tested. The World Health Organization recommends the proportion of COVID-19 tests coming back positive should remain below 5 percent to ensure the spread of the virus is under control.
According to the Department of Health, the entire Philippines remained at low risk for COVID-19 spread.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the Cordillera Administrative Region were deemed at moderate risk.
The agency reported on Sunday 4,621 additional cases, the fourth consecutive day that the number of new infections exceeded 4,000. There are currently 37,805 active COVID-19 cases.
QC at moderate risk
Quezon City residents have been reminded to continue observing health protocols as the city was placed under the moderate risk category amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
Citing data from the OCTA Research Group, the local government said COVID-19 cases in the city increased to 245 from 221 in the previous week.
The positivity rate or the number of people testing positive for the virus also climbed to 15.2 percent from 12.9 percent.
Because of the surge in COVID cases, the Department of Health and the OCTA Research Group placed Quezon City under moderate risk level from its previous low risk status.
“This means that there is a moderate risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the city,” the local government said.
The reproduction rate or the chance for a COVID-positive individual to infect another person dropped to 1.29 percent, according to the city government.
The reproduction rate of below one percent means that there is a very low risk for a COVID-positive individual to cause another infection.
The local government urged the people to strictly follow the minimum health standards such as wearing of face masks, avoiding confined, crowded and close-contact settings, ensuring proper ventilation in indoor spaces and taking advantage of the city’s parks and open spaces.
City hall also encouraged residents to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.
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