SUMMARY
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For seven straight days, the Philippines’ COVID-19 positivity rate stayed below 5% after the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, November 19, reported a rate of 3.5% out of the 43,039 tests conducted.
The World Health Organization (WHO) set the 5% positivity rate benchmark for entering the new normal. This, however, should be maintained by at least two weeks for governments to consider reopening.
The positivity rate is the percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed that are actually positive. These positive cases were added to the tally of confirmed cases only after further validation. This process helped ensure cases would not be recorded in duplicate, and that all test results had been submitted, explained the department.
The DOH said all testing hubs were operational on Wednesday, November 17, while one laboratory was unable to submit its data on time. The cases reflected in the bulletin were based on tests conducted two days ago.
Below are the dates with their corresponding positivity rates that dipped below 5%:
- November 11 – 4.5%
- November 12 – 4.0%
- November 13 – 4.0%
- November 14 – 3.2%
- November 15 – 3.5%
- November 16 – 3.4%
- November 17 – 3.5%
On Friday, the DOH reported 1,485 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total caseload to 2,823,210. Of these, 0.8% or 23,200 remain active or are currently sick.
The DOH also recorded 277 deaths. The total death toll due to COVID-19 in the country increased at 46,698.
Meanwhile, recoveries were up by 1,393 for a total of 2,753,312.
Independent group Octa Research, which has been studying the coronavirus pandemic in the country, said on Friday that the positivity rate in virus epicenter Metro Manila dropped to just 2% for the first time since the region started testing for COVID-19.
The capital region remains at low risk for COVID-19.
– Rappler.com
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