Quezon City now at moderate risk for COVID-19

Amid rising cases in the country, the COVID-19 situation in Quezon City is now at "moderate risk" level.

According to Lei Alviz’s report on “24 Oras” on Thursday, there are 429 active COVID-19 cases in the city as of June 22.

The city’s positivity rate also increased to 4.0 from 3.0 percent last week. This means that 4 out of 100 people tested against COVID-19 were positive.

The city’s reproduction number also rose to 2.2 this week.

Reproduction rate refers to the number of people infected by one case, while positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

The city government has ordered a more aggressive campaign on wearing face masks and vaccinations. Isolation facilities and testing facilities are also being readied.

Last week, Quezon City raised its warning to yellow alert, urging its residents to observe COVID-19 precautions and warning of a possible spike in cases. 

Based on GMA News research's analysis of Department of Health data, Quezon City has also been leading for almost two weeks in areas with high new COVID-19 cases.

Aside from Quezon City, Manila and Makati City have also seen an increase in infections.

The health department said that the positivity rate in the National Capital Region rose to 5.2% this week. This means that for every 100 people tested against COVID-19, five were positive—up from 3.2% than the previous week.

“Most COVID-19 cases nowadays are mild or even asymptomatic, even if the positivity rate is high. It is important to consider the overall picture of transmission and case severity, which is what Alert Level System does,” DOH said. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News