NCR COVID-19 cases down to below 1,000 per day

MANILA, Philippines — Most local government units (LGU) in Metro Manila are now considered as moderate risk, with the average new COVID-19 cases in the region falling below 1,000 per day in the past week.

Citing data from the Department of Health, the OCTA Research Group said the region recorded an average of 926 new daily cases from June 4 to 10, down 17 percent from the preceding week.

The reproduction number in the region, which indicates the number of persons a positive individual can infect, is below the ideal 1.0 at 0.72.

The average daily attack rate (ADAR) is at 6.7 infections per 100,000 population, below the high-risk threshold of 10 infections per 100,000 individuals.

With an ADAR of 10.77, only Makati is considered as high-risk in Metro Manila in the past week.

Navotas continued to have the lowest risk level at 3.48 infections per 100,000 population, followed by Marikina at 4.11, Caloocan at 4.85, Manila at 5.75 and Malabon at 5.76.

In terms of absolute numbers, Quezon City still has the highest number of new cases at an average of 185 per day from June 4 to 10, but this is down 31 percent from the 266 daily new cases recorded in the preceding week.

Its ADAR is sixth lowest in the region at 5.87 infections per 100,000 people.

Mindanao surge slowing down

In its latest report, OCTA said that the rise in cases in Mindanao is slowing down.

Davao City, which recently overtook Quezon City in the highest number of average new cases per day, is again in second spot at 184, down five percent from the preceding week.

While its ADAR is considered as high risk at 10.14 infections per 100,000 population, Davao City’s hospital bed and intensive care unit (ICU) utilization rate are still below the critical threshold at 58 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

Identified as areas of concern were Bacolod with an average of 120 new cases per day in the past week (up 16 percent from 104), Cagayan de Oro with 114 (down 17 percent from 138) and Iloilo City 109 (down 11 percent from 122).

Also included were Dumaguete with 70 (up 290 percent from 18), Butuan with 66 (up 21 percent from 54), Tuguegarao with 51 (down 39 percent from 84), Cotabato City with 40 (up four percent from 38) and Tacloban with 38 (up 64 percent from 23).

Some LGUs that recorded a decrease in new cases were still identified as areas of concern due to other factors, such as the high ADAR in (31.2 infections per 100,000) and high hospital utilization at Iloilo City (84 percent hospital bed, 99 percent ICU bed).