Metro Manila registers lowest ever COVID-19 positivity rate — OCTA

Metro Manila’s coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test positivity rate dropped to 2 percent for the first time since the region started testing people who may have been exposed to the infection, the independent research group OCTA said on Friday, Nov. 19.

In an update via Twitter, OCTA research fellow Dr. Guido David said the 2 percent daily COVID-19 positivity rate that was registered from Nov. 11 to 17 is within the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ideal positivity rate of less than 3 percent.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of all COVID-19 tests that come back positive.

Likewise, David said Metro Manila’s seven-day average in new cases has decreased from 421 to 349, while the reproduction number or infection rate was at 0.48.

The incidence rate or average daily attack rate also decreased to 2.46 cases per 100,000 population.

This means that Metro Manila remains under low risk classification, using the indicators of the Covid Act Now that was developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute, Apple, Microsoft, and Bloomberg.

“Five LGUs (local government units) were classified as very low risk: Navotas, Caloocan, Pateros, Marikina, and Valenzuela. All other LGUs remained under low risk,” David said.

“While the NCR (National Capital Region) and all the LGUs have done well to sustain the downward trend, the goal for the region is to continue best practices and standards to decrease new cases to less than 50 per day by the end of the year,” he added.