OCTA Research — a private polling, research, and consulting firm based in Quezon City which became known for its advisories related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines — has said that the COVID-19 management in Metro Manila was ‘very good’.
This came even as Metro Manila’s positivity rate rose from 8.3 percent on July 2 to 10.9 percent on July 9.
“Kahit na tumataas ang positivity rate, kahit na more than 10 percent [sa Metro Manila], hindi siya malala tulad ng nakita natin noong January [2022] na more than 50 percent (Even if the positivity rate is increasing, even if it is over 10 percent in Metro Manila, it is not as bad as what we saw in January 2022 when the positivity rate reached 50 percent),” OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David.
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“In context, although tumataas ang positivity rate, it’s not at critical levels. It means we’re managing this well. Mukhang hindi naman natin kailangan mag-escalate ng alert levels (In context, although the positivity rate is rising, it’s not at critical levels. It means we’re managing this well. It looks like we don’t need to escalate the Covid alert levels),” he added.
“Hopefully, malapit na yung peak ng cases sa NCR [National Capital Region] pero hindi pa natin masabi yan sa ibang regions (the peak of cases in NCR is near but we can’t say that in other regions yet),” he said.
The cases in Metro Manila may peak in mid-July, while it may peak by late July or early August in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Central Luzon as the positivity rates in other localities are still above 10 percent.
