Nakapagtala ang National Capital Region (NCR) ng pagtaas sa reproduction number ng COVID-19 nitong nakalipas na linggo.
Ayon sa OCTA Research Group, ang NCR reproduction number, o ang bilang ng mga taong maaaring mahawa ng sakit ng isang pasyente ng COVID-19, ay umakyat sa 0.70 noong Disyembre 22.
Sinabi ni OCTA Research Fellow Dr. Guido David na ito ay mas mataas kumpara sa 0.42 lamang noong Disyembre 15.
“Note that this was 0.42 on December 15. If we compare this with last year, the reproduction number also spiked before the holidays, followed by a dip during the holidays (probably due to many people going to the provinces for the holiday break) and then an uptick by the first week of January 2021,” aniya, sa kanyang Twitter account.
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“The holiday uptick may explain the increasing reproduction number and positivity rate,” dagdag pa niya.
“On the other hand, a continued increase in the reproduction number during the holidays would indicate a pattern not observed in December 2020,” dagdag pa niya. “The reproduction number in the NCR based on testing has also increased to 0.79 (this is a more accurate measure of the reproduction number because it is not affected by backlog).”
Kaugnay nito, pinayuhan ni David ang publiko na manatiling vigilante at mag-obserba ng COVID-19 safety protocols kasabay ng patuloy pa ring selebrasyon ng holiday season upang maiwasan ang higit pang pagkalat ng virus.
“Whatever the case may be, we must continue to be vigilant and practice minimum public health standards as we enjoy the rest of the holidays. People with cold symptoms should be mindful of mingling with other people,” aniya pa.
Mary Ann Santiago
