A fellow of the OCTA Research group recently raised concerns that the positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) could potentially reach 20% in the upcoming weeks due to the lower COVID-19 testing compared to previous years.
As of April 26, Guido David, an OCTA fellow, reported that the seven-day positivity rate in the NCR is currently at 13.4%, a significant increase from the 8.4% recorded on April 19.&nbsp;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NCR 7-day positivity rate increased to 13.4% as of April 26 2023. This is up from 8.4% as of April 19. This is expected to increase further, perhaps up to 20%. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#covid19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ArcturusIsHere?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ArcturusIsHere</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dzbb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dzbb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DZAR1026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DZAR1026</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dzrhnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dzrhnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dzrhnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dzrhnews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ali_sotto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ali_sotto</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMichaelTee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrMichaelTee</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrTonyLeachon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrTonyLeachon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/dwiz882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dwiz882</a> <a href="https://t.co/22qBe9qt5h">pic.twitter.com/22qBe9qt5h</a>
&mdash; Dr. Guido David (@iamguidodavid) <a href="https://twitter.com/iamguidodavid/status/1651544754520477701?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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According to the World Health Organization, a positivity rate of five percent or lower is recommended to effectively manage the pandemic.
In a previous statement, David noted that the NCR has been averaging only 3,120 RT-PCR tests per day, a significant decrease from the roughly 11,000 tests conducted in April 2022.&nbsp;
This low number of tests conducted, along with the increasing number of cases, is expected to contribute to the spike in the region&rsquo;s positivity rate.
Despite the rise in the positivity rate, the number of confirmed cases remains low, with only 274 new cases reported on Thursday, up from 197 the previous day.&nbsp;
However, OCTA previously noted that the actual number of cases may be higher since official data only include results from RT-PCR tests and not those from antigen tests.

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20% COVID-19 positivity rate expected in NCR — OCTA