The independent OCTA Research Group on Friday flagged the cities of Davao, Iloilo, Baguio, and San Fernando in La Union as “areas of concern” because of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and high hospital bed occupancy rates.
OCTA, in their latest monitoring report, said “new cases continued to escalate in Davao City, which had the highest daily average in the country and a reproduction number of 1.41.”
A reproduction number of 1 or higher indicates sustained COVID-19 transmission, OCTA said.
In its report, OCTA said Davao City averaged 324 new cases daily from June 25 to July 1, an increase of 43 percent from the previous week, while 66 percent of its hospital beds and 89 percent of its intensive care unit (ICU) beds were in use
OCTA also said Iloilo saw an uptick in infections after a period of decline, while 78 percent of its hospital beds and 94 percent of its ICU beds were occupied.
In Baguio City, cases grew by 30 percent over the past week while 82 percent of hospital beds and 77 percent of ICU beds were occupied.
OCTA said San Fernando City “had a spike in new COVID-19 cases, which was 148 percent higher than the previous week” with 67 percent of hospital beds and 78 percent of ICU beds in use.
The cities of Iloilo and Davao have been placed under the stricter modified enhanced community quarantine until mid-July.
On the other hand, OCTA said COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila rose by 5 percent during June 25 to July 1.
The National Capital Region (NCR) also posted a reproduction number of 0.82, positivity rate of 6 percent, hospital bed occupancy rate of 36 percent, and ICU utilization rate of 44 percent.
OCTA said Navotas, Pateros, and Malabon logged the fewest number of new cases per day at 10 or less.
Nationally, the reproduction number stood at 0.97 while the country’s incidence rate was at 5.2 cases per day per 100,000.
“The trends slowed down or saw a decline in many LGUs in Mindanao and Visayas, including Cagayan de Oro, Tagum, Zamboanga City, Tacloban, Bacolod and Butuan,” OCTA said.
The Department of Health (DOH) earlier classified the Philippines as a low-risk area for COVID-19 but flagged four regions as high-risk
The Philippines logged 6,192 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 1,424,518.
The DOH reported 177 new fatalities, bringing the COVID-19 death toll to 24,973.
The DOH also reported 2,212 newly-recovered patients, bringing the total recoveries to 1,344,063.
There were 55,482 active cases, of which 91.5 percent were mild, 3.8 percent were asymptomatic, 1.4 percent were critical, 2 percent were severe, and 1.44 percent were moderate.
The DOH also reported, nationwide, 55 percent of ICU beds, 46 percent of isolation beds, 44 percent of ward beds, and 34 percent of ventilators, were in use.
In Metro Manila, 40 percent of ICU beds, 37 percent of isolation beds, 34 percent of ward beds, and 30 percent of ventilators, were in use.
The National Task Force Against COVID-19 said the country has administered about 11 million COVID-19 vaccine jabs, including 1 million this week alone.
NTF deputy chief implementer Vince Dizon said this was the fastest pace since the government launched the vaccination program in March.
The Philippines has taken delivery of some 17.4 million vaccine doses, but the jabs are still in short supply, Dizon said.