Some 14 areas in Luzon have recorded “very high” or above 20 percent COVID-19 positivity rates in the past week, while that of Metro Manila increased to 15 percent, the independent monitoring group OCTA Research said.
This developed as the Department of Health on Sunday logged 4,159 new COVID-19 cases—the highest single-day tally since February 10.
OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Albay, Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Cavite, Isabela, La Union, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales all posted more than 20 percent one-week positivity rate as of July 29.
Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.
The positivity rate was seen highest in Isabela at 36.3 percent on Friday, compared to its 25.7 percent on July 23.
It was followed by Tarlac with 31.6 percent, Laguna with 30.9 percent, Camarines Sur with 28.4 percent, Quezon with 27.5 percent, Zambales with 27.2 percent, Cavite with 27.1 percent, Nueva Ecija with 25.8 percent, Albay with 25.4 percent, Pampanga with 23.2 percent, Cagayan with 22.7 percent, Rizal with 21.7 percent, Pangasinan with 21 percent, and La Union with 20.9 percent.
Meanwhile, David said Metro Manila’s one-week positivity rate slightly went up from 14.2 percent on July 23 to 15 percent on July 29.
Despite this, David said that the COVID-19 cases nowadays are less severe or fatal, especially if the infected individual is fully vaccinated.
“Our healthcare utilization remains low. This means the cases are not fatal (otherwise) we would see an increase in the number of people in hospitals,” he said in a dzBB interview.
According to the DOH, the regions with the most cases in the last two weeks were the National Capital Region with 14,107 followed by Calabarzon with 9,282, and Central Luzon with 4,401.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has adopted several working arrangements for trial courts in areas under Alert Levels 1 and 2.
In a circular, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo ordered all trial court judges, officials, and personnel in areas under Alert Level 1 to report physically for work until August 15.
For areas under Alert Level 2, only 80 percent of total personnel are required to work on-site.
Courts in areas under Alert Level 2 are likewise not allowed to conduct night courts.
