DESPITE the Covid-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) breaching the World Health Organization (WHO)’s benchmark, a fellow at the independent analytics group OCTA Research opined that rising Covid cases in Metro Manila do not call for an increase in alert levels as suggested by some experts.
Currently, Metro Manila is under Alert Level 1 until the end of June after WHO recommended a five-percent threshold for the Covid-19 positivity rate.
“(N)o need to increase because our projections show that hospitalizations will remain at manageable levels with a weak surge,” OCTA fellow Guido David replied when asked for his opinion on the alert status in the NCR.
David mentioned that from his group’s projections, cases of Covid-19 will peak between early and mid-July but infections would already be manageable by August when face t face classes will resume. “(W)e expect it to peak in early to mid-July so the numbers should already be manageable by August,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, David noted that the NCR positivity has been tagged at 5.5 percent a day ago.
“We are seeing an increase in cases in Metro Manila, Western Visayas and a few other provinces. It’s becoming a cause for concern, though not cause for alarm yet,” he concluded.
