The OCTA Research team projects that a slow down or a downward number of COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region Plus bubble may be felt in the next month.
OCTA Research said that if the current reproduction number 2.0 will decrease to 1.5 within the two-week period from March 22 to April 4, “there will be a downward in four weeks, and the number of new cases per day will reach 6,200.”
RELATED STORY: OCTA research says it will be difficult to slow down COVID-19 surge in PH
Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal are all currently under the so-called ‘bubble’ or NCR Plus.
Under the new policy, non-essential travel will be prohibited in and out of Metro Manila and other provinces covered by the ‘bubble’.
“In a more optimistic scenario, the reproduction number will decrease to less than 1.0 after two weeks and the trend will reverse. The number of new cases under the more optimistic scenario could reach 5,000 per day in the NCR,” OCTA said.
READ ON: DOH asks public to act with extreme vigilance amid surge of COVID-19 cases
The group said that the reproduction number in Metro Manila was at 1.99 as of March 23, 2021.
“With stricter measures imposed by the national government, there is hope that the pandemic may start to slow down,” the research group said. (TDT)
