CORONAVIRUS infections in Manila and nearby cities have declined, according to the OCTA Research Group.
The seven-day positivity rate in Metro Manila, which accounted for 31.5% of the country’s economic output last year, had fallen to 3.7% from 5.8% as of Jan. 14, OCTA said in a report on Tuesday. Low positivity rates were also observed in 10 other areas in Luzon.
Bulacan province posted the lowest positivity rate at 2.3%, followed by Pampanga at 2.6%. Batangas and Cavite both came in third at 3.2% each.
Benguet’s positivity rate was 3.6%, while Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan provinces were at 3.9% each.
The positivity rate of Isabela province in northern Philippines hit a very high level at 50.2% from 35.1%, OCTA said.
The Philippines posted 2,934 coronavirus infections in the past week, with a daily average of 419, according to health authorities.
The daily average from Jan. 9 to 15 was 6% lower than the average daily cases a week earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin on Monday. Of the new cases, one was severe and critical.
The agency said 116 new deaths were verified in the past week, 14 of which occurred on Jan. 2 to 15.
It said 402 of 2,340 intensive care unit (ICU) beds had been used as of Jan. 15, while 3,917 of 19,607 non-ICU beds were occupied. There were 567 severe and critical admissions, it added.
The Health department said 73.81 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, 21.24 million of whom got booster shots. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
