Cases in NCR, select Mindanao cities on downward trend: OCTA

MANILA – The average daily number of new Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) is down by 17 percent for the period June 4 to 10, 2021, the OCTA Research Group reported Friday.

From 1,116 the previous period, the past week averaged 926 daily.

In its latest monitoring, OCTA said the reproduction number in Metro Manila over the same period was 0.72 and the average daily attack rate (ADAR) was 6.7, meaning the risk level in the region is now “moderate”.

The positivity rate in NCR also decreased to 8 percent and the hospital care utilization rate (HCUR) to 36 percent.

The intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rate is at 49 percent.

“Most local government units in the NCR have already moved down to moderate risk, or an ADAR of less than 10 per 100,000. Navotas continued to have the lowest risk level at 3.48, followed by Marikina’s 4.11,” the report showed.

The fight to end the pandemic also received a major boost on Thursday night with the arrival of more than three million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac jabs, bringing to over 12 million the country’s acquired vaccines, both donated and procured.

Vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said of the latest delivery, 1.9 million doses of the Pfizer shots will be dedicated to NCR and other provinces in Luzon.

Outside NCR

OCTA Research also reported that the rise in cases in Mindanao has “slowed down” over the past week.

It noted that Davao City had a “slight decrease” in cases.

Hospital bed occupancy in Davao City also continued to be at a “safe” below 60 percent, positivity rate at 12 percent, and reproduction number at 1.46 the past week.

“The trends continued to move downward in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga City, but Cagayan de Oro continued to have high hospital occupancy rates,” it said.

Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo City, Dumaguete, Butuan, Tuguegarao, Cotabato City, and Tacloban remained “areas of concern”.

In the Visayas, Dumaguete still had a surge in new cases with an ADAR of 51.58.

Tacloban’s average number of daily cases, on the other hand, had a significant rise from 18 to 38 this week. Its hospital bed utilization rate and ICU occupancy are also high at 75 and 78 percent, respectively.

The increasing trend in Bacolod has slowed, while the trend in Iloilo City is now on a “slight decrease”.

On Thursday, the Department of Health reported an additional 4,504 recoveries that pushed the overall count to 1,214,454.

The recoveries account for 93.9 percent of the total case tally which has reached 1,293,687 as of June 10.