Experts studying the coronavirus outbreak in the country saw an “uptick” in cases in virus epicenter Metro Manila.

In its latest report published on Wednesday, November 25, the Octa Research Group said the reproduction number – or the number of people that one positive case can infect – in the capital region slightly increased to 0.83 (November 17-23) from 0.76 (November 10 to 16). This was still below 1.

Aside from Metro Manila, increase in new cases per day was also observed in Calabarzon, Central Luzon, and Western Visayas.

Over the weekend, a crowd of people flocked to Divisoria in Manila. No physical distancing was observed, while some were not wearing their face masks properly.

On November 5, the experts warned against possible “surge” in COVID-19 cases during the holiday season.

During a virtual press briefing on Monday, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire urged the public to do their shopping online to reduce the risk of virus transmission.

However, Vergeire described the general situation of COVID-19 cases in the country as “plateauing” nearly 9 months since the pandemic started. Average new cases reported in a single day over the past few weeks have hovered below 2,000.

As of Wednesday, the Philippines has 422,915 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 8,215 deaths and 386,955 recoveries. Of the total, 27,745 are active cases. – Rappler.com