THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported the sustained drop in the average daily cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country.
Based on the DOH’s weekly case bulletin, there was an average of 419 cases daily, or a total of 2,934 infections during the one-week period of January 9 to 15.
The figure is six percent lower than the number of cases reported from January 2 to 8, which was listed at 447 cases daily.
The bulletin indicated one additional severe and critical case and 116 deaths.
The DOH reported that there are currently 567 severe and critical cases in the country, as of January 15, of which 402 are occupying intensive care unit (ICU) beds. The number comprises 17.2 percent of the 2,340 ICU beds nationwide.
On the other hand, there are 3,917 patients admitted in hospitals nationwide, who occupy 20 percent of the 19,607 COVID-19 beds allocated nationwide.
Meanwhile, the independent OCTA Research group said COVID-19 positivity rates in the National Capital Region (NCR) and 10 provinces in Luzon are now classified as being “low.”
In its latest data, OCTA said Metro Manila’s positivity rate dropped to 3.7 percent as of January 14 from 5.8 percent as of January 7.
“The COVID-19 positivity rate in NCR decreased from 5.8% to 3.7%, as of January 14, 2023, and is considered low,” said OCTA fellow Guido David in a social media post.
The 10 provinces now classified as low are Laguna (4.4%), Zambales (4.1%), Cagayan (3.9%), Ilocos Norte (3.9%), Pangasinan (3.9%), Benguet (3.6%), Batangas (3.2%), Cavite (3.2%), Pampanga (2.6%), and Bulacan (2.3%).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set the COVID-19 positivity rate threshold at 5 percent, which means that the transmission of the virus is under control.
Positivity rate is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus out of the overall number of those who have been tested.
The OCTA also reported that eight provinces in Luzon now have “moderate” level of positivity rates.
They are Camarines Sur (17.6%), Tarlac (12.5%), Rizal (9.4%), Albay (7.7%), Nueva Ecija (7.4%), La Union (6.3%), Bataan (6.1%), and Quezon (5.4%).
On the other hand, OCTA said Isabela currently has a “very high” positivity rate of 50.2 percent, a big jump from its 35.1 percent positivity rate recorded a week earlier.
