MANILA, Philippines – Experts studying the coronavirus pandemic in the country projected that COVID-19 cases in the country may breach the 20,000-mark on Friday, January 7.

“The country is expected to exceed 20,000 new cases by January 7,” Octa Research fellow Guido David said in a tweet on Thursday, January 6.

He also said that new daily cases in Metro Manila may rise to a record-breaking 10,000 to 11,000 on Thursday, January 6, while the nationwide tally may hit 15,000 to 16,000 cases.

“The positivity rate in NCR increased further to 45% as of January 4,” David said. The positivity rate is the percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed that turn out positive.

Octa’s Metro Manila projections for Thursday would surpass the peak of cases in the capital region due to the Delta variant on September 11, 2021, when 9,031 cases were reported. 

The spike in cases comes as the Philippines recorded a total of 14 cases of the Omicron variant – three of them local cases. Experts have said that Omicron is the most transmissible coronavirus variant, so far.

The health department earlier said there is a “high possibility” of local transmission of Omicron in the country.

On Wednesday, January 6, the Philippines logged 10,775 new cases, nearly double Tuesday’s tally.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, the Philippines is still struggling to contain the virus that has so far infected over 2.8 million and has killed over 51,000 of its population. – Rappler.com