COVID-19 positivity rate in NCR climbs to 19.7% —OCTA

The COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) climbed to 19.7% as of May 2, according to independent monitoring group OCTA Research on Wednesday.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said the region’s weekly COVID-19 positivity rate increased from 18.8% on May 1 and from 12.7% on April 25.

David said the NCR’s positivity rate could possibly increase up to 25%.

The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who are found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested. The World Health Organization's (WHO) recommends that test positivity remain lower than 5%.

In a separate tweet, the OCTA Research fellow said that the nationwide positivity rate is currently at 17.1%, up from 15.9%.

David said he is projecting at least 1,100 to 1,300 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, May 4.

He added that the hospital occupancy also increased to 24.7% on May 2 from 22.5% on April 25.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 867 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, pushing the country's caseload to 4,096,335.

It is the third consecutive day that new infections in the Philippines reached over 800. The country’s active tally also jumped to 7,565 from 7,037 on Tuesday, according to the DOH. — Richa Noriega/BM, GMA Integrated News