OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said the further decrease in Metro Manila’s number of Covid-19 cases may be an indication that the ongoing wave of infections caused by the XBB subvariant may be coming to an end.
“The wave of Omicron BA.5 in Metro Manila started in June and then had a peak. Then there was another increase when September came. We couldn’t explain then why but now it’s clear that the increase is because of XBB,” David said in Filipino in a public briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 25.According to David, OCTA has continued to observe a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in Metro Manila, as well as in nearby regions, in recent weeks.
“But there are still provinces that are seeing an increase in the positivity rate and the number of cases. These are the places that are quite far from Metro Manila, including Tarlac and some provinces in northern Luzon. The same is true in Western Visayas and other parts of Mindanao, including Misamis Oriental,” he pointed out.