Metro Manila's COVID-19 positive rate jumps to 18.8% according to OCTA research

As of May 1, the pandemic watchdog OCTA Research reported a further increase in Metro Manila's weekly COVID-19 positivity rate to 18.8%.

Dr. Guido David, OCTA Research Fellow, reported late Tuesday night that the capital region's positivity rate increased by 7.1 points from the 11.7 percent recorded on April 24. The number of COVID-19 tests that result in a positive result is referred to as the positivity rate.

A 5-percent cutoff for the COVID-19 positivity rate is advised by the World Health Organization.

According to pandemic watchdog OCTA Research, the weekly COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila increased even further to 18.8% as of May 1.

The country's healthcare utilization rate, according to acting health chief Maria Rosario Vergeire, has remained "low risk" despite an increase in coronavirus infections, she said in a press conference on Tuesday.

"Itong pagtaas ng mga kaso na nakikita natin sa ngayon, hindi po siya nagta-translate sa mas maraming hospital admissions... sa mas maraming severe critical cases and even deaths," she told reporters.

According to her, the rise in COVID-19 cases contrasts with the pandemic's peak in 2020 and 2021.

Vergeire claimed that a "multitude of factors" including increased public mobility and more transmissible variants were to blame for the rise.

Tuesday saw 843 new COVID-19 cases reported in the Philippines, bringing the total to 4,095,468. 15.9 percent of Americans said they were happy as of late.