HomeNewsChristmas holidays, not Omicron, caused rise in positivity rate, says OCTA

Christmas holidays, not Omicron, caused rise in positivity rate, says OCTA

Filipinos are reminded to continue adhering to minimum public health standards and avail of COVID-19 vaccines

The slight increase in the Philippine capitals’ COVID-19 positivity rate, average daily attack rate (ADAR), and reproduction rate was due to the holiday frenzy and not necessarily because of the Omicron variant, said OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David.

David said it is premature to say that the newest coronavirus variant had something to do with the spike in numbers.

Based on two-week growth rates (TWGR), David reported that the current reproduction number is at 0.85 percent while the ADAR in the National Capital Region (NCR) is at 0.82 percent.

The positivity rate slightly increased to 1.4 percent.




“We can’t really say that it is Omicron-driven because we have seen this last year. The (Christms) gatherings might have caused this, so we just really need to be extra careful,” he said in a media briefing.

As of Monday, the country has 9,579 active COVID-19 cases, the 10th straight day that the tally was below 10,000.

Four cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed so far.

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Just like last year, David noted that the COVID-19 testing slowed down as laboratories took a break and the recent onslaught of Typhoon Odette affected the operations of some testing centers.

He said a “clear picture” as to how the COVID-19 cases suddenly increased might be available in the first week of January.

“In January this year, the uptick went back to its normal level. So it went down again. So, that’s what we want to see after January [next year], if we resolved our backlogs in testing and in our laboratories, then the cases will go back to normal levels. That’s what we want to happen,” said David.

“It could just be a holiday uptick, which means that it is possible that the number of cases and the positivity rate will go down,” he added.

David reminded the public to continue adhering to minimum public health standards and avail of COVID-19 vaccines.

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