COVID-19 cases in some parts of Metro Manila continue to rise

Some groups of experts are now concerned about the continuing increase in COVID-19 cases in some parts of Metro Manila.

These include the OCTA Research Group, which is a group of professors studying COVID-19 data.

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“Before tumaas nag-average tayo ng 400 cases per day sa Metro Manila,” said Dr. Guido David, fellow of OCTA Research Group.

“Ngayon, for the past 4 days, ang average natin 900. So dumoble or more pa nga. Mabilis itong pagtaas ng cases,” he added.

According to the group, they first saw a big increase of COVID-19 cases in Pasay, which recently implemented a lockdown in some of its barangays.

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Today, the increase is also being observed in some other cities such as Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Malabon, Taguig, Navotas, and Parañaque, according to OCTA.

According to David, it has nothing to do with the past holiday.

The group allegedly suspected that it was related to a more infectious United Kingdom variant.

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“Mayroon kaming strong suspicion na ito ‘yung nagdi-drive ng transmission sa mga areas na ‘yan,” said David.

“This is just a hypothesis. Ang sinasabi lang natin, ang patterns ng pag-increase, similar sa pag-increase sa Cebu City at Mountain Province,” he added.

COVID-19 cases in some parts of Metro Manila continue to rise

According to ABS-CBN Data Analytics head Edson Guido, the positivity rate in the country reached almost 8 percent on February 26.

This is the percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 compared to all who were tested.

The positivity rate in Central Visayas and the National Capital Region also nearly doubled compared to the weeks of January.

“Kailangan talaga bantayan ito dahil sa urban centers nga, mas dense ang population kaya mas mabilis ang transmission,” said Guido.

It is said that the positivity rate also shows the lack of testing centers in some areas.

“We’re still undertesting. Maraming positibo na nandiyan na hindi pa natin nate-test,” said Guido.

Experts of the UP-OCTA Research Group also said they expect that the country’s COVID-19 cases will hit 2,500 a day in the country if the trend continues to increase.

“Ito ‘yung levels na nakita natin noong August per day. What that would mean? potentially mao-overwhelm ang health care system so that’s why it’s importante na ma-curb natin agad,” David insisted.