The Philippines has successfully flattened the trends curve of COVID-19 transmission with decreasing cases seen in Metro Manila and nearby provinces in the CALABARZON region based on the assessment of University of the Philippines (UP) professor and OCTA Research Team’s Guido David.
UP Professor David of the Institute of Mathematics told media organizations on September 6, 2020, that the average reproductive rate of the coronavirus has decreased from 0.99 to 0.94 over the past week.
The reproductive rate is used to measure the rate of the virus transmission or the number of people who may be infected by a confirmed case. The value of less than one is considered a step down from the rate of higher than one that points to the significant contagiousness of the virus.
From 4,000 daily cases in August, the first week of September showed cases averaging 3,000 a day. However, David cautioned Filipinos to keep doing the right things to sustain the momentum as COVID-19 trends can still be reversed.
The positivity rate of tests has also gone down from 19% to 12% over the past week, indicating the lessening of positive COVID-19 test results.
David also advised the Philippine government to carefully evaluate plans to ease community quarantine restrictions in the GCQ-restricted National Capital Region. Metro Manila, Bulacan, and Batangas have been declared under GCQ until the end of September while Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, and Quezon have reverted to the less restrictive MGCQ.
The UP professor credited the flattening of the curve to health safety protocols such as the wearing of face masks, face shields, personal hygiene, physical distancing, and increased COVID 19 testing.
David also projects that if the momentum is sustained over the next three months, then the country’s economy can be reopened by the Christmas season.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to Filipinos for helping flatten the curve in COVID 19 transmission.
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