Weak surge of COVID-19 cases possible – OCTA  

MANILA, Philippines — While the uptick in new COVID-19 cases does not warrant major concern at this time, a member of the OCTA Research Group said yesterday that the country may experience a “weak surge” in the coming weeks.

“Cases are rising. So far, the projections point to a weak surge at work,” OCTA fellow Guido David said, noting that new cases nationwide may reach several thousands per day, but less than 5,000.

He said there is a chance that the country’s positivity rate, which indicates the number of positive results out of the total tests conducted, may reach five percent in two to three weeks. At present, it is at 1.8 percent nationwide.

“We should be aware of the increase in cases so we can act according to our specific situations, but this does not warrant big concern or alarm at this time,” he added.

The Philippines reported 287 new cases on Friday, up from 252 the day before.

The bulk of the cases was in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 121, slightly lower than the 125 recorded last Thursday.

Citing data from the Department of Health (DOH), David said the NCR or Metro Manila had an average of 102 new cases per day from June 2 to 8, up by 28 percent from the previous week.

The reproduction number, which indicates the number of people that a positive individual infects, rose from 1.15 on May 31 to 1.29 on June 6.

The positivity rate in the region also rose from 1.5 percent to 2.2 percent