Experts from the OCTA Research Group noted that the surge of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases during the holidays was ‘weaker’ than what they expected.
In a GMA News report, experts said that the data from the past two weeks showed that the reproduction rate in the National Capital Region did not increase dramatically.
The reproduction number in Metro Manila is currently at 1.07 from 1.08 on Tuesday.
“The trend lines moving slightly downward indicate that the holiday surge in NCR was much weaker than expected,” the experts said.
The impact of the crowded Feast of the Black Nazarene has yet to be reflected in the current data.
“It remains to be seen if the recent Black Nazarene festival will have any effect on the pandemic, but early indications do not point to a possible surge,” they added.
The country’s overall reproduction rate also dipped from 1.15 to 1.13 on Wednesday.
UP Professor Guido David said that the government can now study the possibility of lifting quarantine restrictions in areas with low COVID-19 cases.
“In low-risk areas, we can do this gradually. But in the major metropolitan areas that are highly sensitive to any changes and susceptible to outbreaks, we should do our best to keep the pandemic in check, especially now that the vaccine is around the corner,” he said.
The Philippines has recorded over 10,000 deaths on Thursday afternoon. THE DOH reports 1,783 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the country’s total to 507,717. (TDT)
