Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal now low risk for COVID-19 transmission —OCTA
By J.Lo
“The positivity rates in NCR and Calabarzon continued to fall as all provinces had less than 10% positivity rate as of February 15,” OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal are now classified “low risk” for COVID-19 transmission, with Batangas expected to follow in a few days, according to OCTA Research.
In a tweet, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said positivity rates in Calabarzon, as well as in the National Capital Region, have dropped below 10%.
OCTA earlier classified NCR as low risk for COVID-19 transmission. The independent monitoring group said the region may slide down to “very low risk” classification by March.
Among Calabarzon provinces, David said Quezon “is very close to being the first province under very low risk classification.”
Based on OCTA’s data, NCR has a positivity rate of 7% as of February 15, while Batangas has 10%, Cavite has 9%, Laguna and Rizal have 8%, and Quezon has 4%.
As for reproduction rate, NCR has 0.19, Batangas 0.25, Cavite 0.20, Laguna and Quezon 0.19, and Rizal 0.18.
Reproduction number refers to the number of people infected by one case. A reproduction number below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down.
Meanwhile, for average daily attack rate, the NCR has the highest with 3.57 while Quezon has the lowest at 0.79.
The Department of Health (DOH) logged the lowest daily COVID-19 tally this year with 2,010 new infections, bringing the nationwide cases to 3,641,940.
Total active cases, meanwhile, stood at 72,305, of which 1,498 were asymptomatic, 66,093 were mild, 2,961 were moderate, 1,441 were severe, and 312 were critical.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said the entire Philippines is now classified as being at “low risk” of COVID-19.
Under Alert Level 3, several establishments will be allowed to operate at 30% indoor venue capacity but exclusively for fully vaccinated people and 50% outdoor venue capacity as long as employees are fully vaccinated.
In-person classes, contact sports, funfairs/perya, and casinos are among the activities and establishments that are prohibited under Alert Level 3.
Under Alert Level 4, establishments are allowed to operate at 10% indoor capacity strictly for fully vaccinated individuals only and 30% outdoor capacity. Cinemas, contact sports, face-to-face classes, amusement parks, casinos are prohibited.
At least 61.6 million Filipinos are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The government is eyeing to fully vaccinate 77 million Filipinos against COVID-19 by the end of March and 90 million by the time President Rodrigo Duterte steps down from office on June 30.
The administration of booster shots is also ongoing, given that the efficacy of the primary dose series of COVID-19 vaccines wanes over time according to the Health Department.
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