PH average new Covid-19 cases down by 3%: OCTA

MANILA – The Philippines’ average number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases has decreased by 3 percent, according to OCTA Research on Saturday.

The seven-day average went down to 6,430 on June 5-11 from 6,699 on May 26 to June 1.

The reproduction number (R0) or the average number of secondary infections from a single case was at 1.02, likewise down from the previous period’s 1.09.

An R0 less than 1 means that the epidemic curve is flattening, while a number higher than 1 implies the virus is spreading.

About 27 percent of new cases came from the National Capital Region Plus (Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Rizal), marking a huge decrease from when it accounted for 94 percent of the new infections from March 29 to April 4.

Rising cases, meanwhile, were reported in Dumaguete with an average of 57 daily new cases, up by 80 percent compared to the previous week.

Tacloban’s average new cases also climbed from 26 to 45, the latest monitoring showed.

Aside from Dumaguete and Tacloban, OCTA said the areas of concern include Cagayan de Oro City, Iloilo City, Butuan, Tuguegarao, and Cotabato City as these had high hospital bed utilization rates greater than 70 percent.