The country logged a record-high daily COVID-19 fatality of 423 on Saturday, even as the positivity rate in Metro Manila decreased to five percent—the lowest since July 14.
The Department of Health said 373 of the fatalities were initially tagged as recoveries.
This brought the total COVID-related deaths to 43,044, with a case fatality rate of 1.55 percent.
Some 4,008 infections were also recorded yesterday, raising the nationwide tally to 2,783,896, with active cases at 47,690.
Of the active cases, 74.4 percent were mild, 5.1 percent were asymptomatic, 2.7 percent were critical, 6.5 percent were severe, and 11.27 percent were moderate.
Nationwide, 49 percent of ICU beds, 36 percent of isolation beds, 33 percent of ward beds, and 32 percent of ventilators were in use.
In Metro Manila, 42 percent of ICU beds, 30 percent of isolation beds, 30 percent of ward beds, and 29 percent of ventilators were in use.
The OCTA Research Group, for its part, said Metro Manila now has a low positivity rate of 5 percent as well as a low reproduction number of 0.55 percent.
“A positivity rate of 5 percent or less is an acceptable positivity rate according to the World Health Organization,” the independent research team said.
“Hopefully next week we will see something close to 4 percent. But based on history, the positivity rate in NCR plateaus around 3 to 4 percent,” OCTA’s Guido David said.
For his part, a former adviser to the government’s pandemic task force on Saturday expressed support to the extension of Alert Level 3 in Metro Manila until Nov. 14.
Dr. Tony Leachon said the government probably took into consideration the new variant from Mauritius found in a patient from Negros Oriental and the subvariant of the Delta strain that is not yet in the country, as well as a possible surge in cases due to the overcrowding at the Manila Bay dolomite beach.
“I think that’s the context of why Alert Level 2 was delayed. I think that it’s connected to the dolomite incident. They want to find out if it will result in a spike in the next two weeks, that’s why they delayed it,” Leachon said.
Under Alert Level 3, the Department of Transportation said it will implement a 30-day pilot study of the gradual increase in passenger capacities in all forms of public transport in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The government’s COVID-19 task force on Thursday approved the increase in operational capacity from the current 50 percent to 70 percent for public road-based and rail transportation in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna starting Nov. 4.
“The livelihood of public transport drivers and operators was severely affected with passenger capacity in public transport maintained at 50 percent due to previous pandemic restrictions. Increasing passenger capacity will mean higher revenue for the public transport sector, considering the increase in expenses brought by rising fuel prices,” the DOTR said in a statement.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, on the other hand, said the implementation of the truck ban policy will remain suspended while the National Capital Region is still under Alert Level 3.
“In support of the government’s effort to gradually open the economy, the truck ban being imposed by the MMDA on major thoroughfares will remain suspended until further notice,” the agency said in an advisory.