OCTA: ‘Very high’ COVID-19 positivity rate in CamSur, Aklan at yearend; NCR sees slight decrease

The provinces of Camarines Sur and Aklan recorded a “very high” COVID-19 positivity rate before the year 2023 ended, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said.

On X (formerly Twitter), David showed data that the positivity rate in Camarines Sur jumped to 59.4% on December 30, from 46.7% on December 23.

Aklan’s positivity rate was also considered on top at 66.7%, despite declining from 78.1% over the same period.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), meanwhile, the positivity rate slightly decreased from 24.1% on Dec. 23, to 23.0% on Dec. 30.

Other provinces that recorded high positivity rates were Bataan, Batangas, Benguet, Cavite, Isabela, Laguna, Oriental Mindoro, Pampanga, Quezon, Tarlac, Agusan del Norte, Cebu, and Misamis Oriental.

The Department of Health (DOH) last Thursday dismissed claims that there is a new COVID-19 wave in the NCR as it presented data showing that cases in the country actually dipped over the holiday period.

The Health Department said there were 3,147 new COVID-19 cases in the country, with average daily cases of 449 from Dec. 26, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024. This is a 10% drop from the 501 average daily cases logged from Dec. 19 to 25, with 3,507 total cases.

“Our data shows the continuous low transmission and mild presentation of COVID-19 locally,” the agency said in a statement.—RF, GMA Integrated News