MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) has noted that the National Capital Region (NCR) is now at moderate risk for Covid-19. DOH’s statement comes after the region saw a slight decline in positive cases.
In early August, the region was tagged as a high risk area for Covid-19 due to huge spike in cases. The spike was attributed to the more contagious local transmission of the Delta variant. This also forced the national government and the IATF to revert back to the strictest community quarantine classification.
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire mentioned that due to the effects of the lockdown and high vaccination rates, NCR is seeing a slight decline in Covid-19 cases. The decline is also manifested in the growth rate and average daily attack rate.
“Average daily attack rate, defined as the number of infected people per 100,000 population, slightly dipped to 36.59, from 37.11. Meanwhile, the region’s two-week growth rate of cases went down to -1% in the past 14 days, from 34% recorded three to four weeks ago.”
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire
Additionally, the region logged a daily average of 4,480 infections from Sept. 17 to 23, a 23% decrease from the 5,842 tallied the week prior.
Projections for the month of October also indicate a drop in average daily cases. According to DOH, active cases in NCR could go up to around 58,000 by the end of September, then decrease to 46,000 by the end of October. However, Vergeire cautioned that these projections are not set in stone and are based on assumptions and changes in the region’s actual case trend.