The Health Agency announces 2489 new cases with 15.3% positivity and 31 added deaths today. Of the total cases, 1294 were from NCR, 237 from Central Luzon and 467 from CALABARZON.

Cases are up in NCR (more than 50% of the cases today are from this tiny dense region) with Quezon City leading the haul with 330 cases followed by Manila 165, Taguig 111, and Makati 102. Double digits came from Parañaque 83, Pasig 73, Marikina and Valenzuela with 67 each, Caloocan 62, Pasay City and Mandaluyong 52 apiece, Las Piñas 39, Muntinlupa 36, Malabon 26 and Navotas 13.

Outside of NCR, the provinces of Cavite (189), Rizal (134) and Bulacan (132) reported triple digits. Two provinces had more than 50 but less than 100 cases. They were: Laguna 85 and Davao del Sur 79 (28 coming from Davao City).

The Health Agency announces 2536 new cases with 34 added deaths and 15.1% positivity rate today. NCR owned 1149 of the cases (45%). While the bulk still came from NCR + Central Luzon + CALBARZON, these three regions saw less share of the cases accounting for 72% only today or around 6-8% less than the previous days.

Quezon City hauled in 301 cases with Makati 124 and Manila 122. Double digits in NCR came from Pasig 94, Parañaque 70, Caloocan 69, Taguig 61, Pasay City 50, Las Piñas 48, Marikina 47, Valenzuela 43, Mandaluyong 39, Muntinlupa 37, Malabon 19 and San Juan 13.

Outside NCR, the following provinces had triple digits: Rizal 151, Cavite 138, Bulacan 124 and Davao del Sur 115 (with Davao City accounting for 46). Those with more than 50 but less than 100 were: Cavite 75 and Batangas 71.

The Health Agency announces 1500 new cases with 33 added deaths and a positivity rate of 14.4%. The NCR owned 671 (45%) of the day’s cases.

75% of the cases today came from three regions – NCR, Central Luzon and CALABARZON.

Only Quezon City reported triple digits all over the country with 175 cases. Those with double digits were: Manila 71, Caloocan 66, Taguig 61, Makati and Pasig 49, Parañaque 42, Las Piñas 32, Valenzuela 27, Mandaluyong 23, Pasay City 19, Marikina and Muntinlupa 16 and San Juan 11.

The provinces that had more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Bulacan 97, Rizal 86, Cavite 76, Laguna 74 and La Union 51.

The Health Agency announces 1555 new cases with 14% positivity and 30 added deaths. There were 738 cases from the National Capital Region.

79% of the cases today came from 3 regions – NCR, CALABARZON, and Central Luzon.

In Mega Manila, Quezon City was the lone triple digit hauler with 182 cases, even on a low Tuesday. Other LGUs with double digits were: Manila 89, Parañaque 65, Pasig 61, Makati 56, Caloocan 53, Taguig 44, Pasay City 42, Mandaluyong 37, Las Piñas 32, Marikina and Muntinlupa 20 each, Valenzuela 17, Malabon 10.

Outside of NCR, the provinces of Cavite and Bulacan had triple digits with 148 and 102, respectively. Only one province had more than 50 but less than 100 cases today. This was Rizal with 89.

The Health Agency announces 17891 cases for the week of September 19-25, 2022, pushing the 7-day average of cases to 2556/day. This was 22% higher than the 14707 cases for the week of September 12-18, 2022. There were 242 additional deaths for this week with 29 of the deaths occurring recently (September 12-25).

Healthcare utilization is lower at 27.8% for non ICU beds compared to the previous week of 28.9%, while ICU bed utilization is also down at 22.9% versus 24.1% the previous week. There were only 2 severe and critical cases added to this week.

While the Health Agency announces that 93.49% of the population is now fully vaccinated, the data is not correct considering that the denominator being used here for population eligible for immunization were those 18 years old and up when the vaccination roll out began in 2021. Since vaccination is now approved for 5 years and up, the denominator should be adjusted according to age. Adjusted vaccination accomplishment is in reality at 67%, one of the lowest in the East Asian region. Lower still are those who have gotten at least ONE booster where less than 19.5M Filipinos have even received a single booster.

Today, there were 2001 new cases added with a high 14% positivity to start the week (remember that every Monday, we reset the positivity rate). There were 29 added deaths today. NCR owned 947 cases today.

In NCR, Quezon City continued to lead with 204 cases followed by Manila with 111. Twelve LGUs reported double digits – Makati 88, Taguig 85, Pasig 66, Valenzuela 56, Pasay City 54, Parañaque and Marikina 50 each, Caloocan 41, Las Piñas 40, Mandaluyong 34, Muntinlupa 28, San Juan 15 and Malabon 13.

Outside NCR, three provinces had triple digits – Cavite 135, Rizal 123, Bulacan 102. Provinces with more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Laguna 58, Pampanga 52 and Davao del Sur 50.

The Health Agency announces 3520 new cases as the Philippines continued to report increasing cases today, with 31 added deaths and 15.3% positivity. NCR positivity is almost 20%, with NCR hitting a new high of 1600 new cases.

Six LGUs in NCR reported triple digits with Quezon City leading with 378 cases. This was followed by Manila 178, Marikina and Makati 104 each, Pasig 133 and Parañaque 103. The LGUs with double digits reported high double numbers: Caloocan 96, Taguig 95, Las Piñas 82, Mandaluyong 68, Valenzuela 65, Muntinlupa 62, Pasay City 53, Malabon 30, San Juan 25 and Navotas 15.

Outside of NCR, the provinces with triple digits were: Rizal 235, Cavite 214, Bulacan 172, Davao del Sur 106, Laguna 101. Those with more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Batangas 98, Tarlac 90, South Cotabato 56, and Pampanga 50.

Two provinces saw increasing cases today. They were: Palawan 33 and Maguindanao 20.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

As global cases of COVID-19 see a steady decline (including deaths), many countries in East Asia continue to see a large dip in COVID numbers as well. This includes front leader Japan and South Korea. Japan and Hong Kong will be opening its borders to tourism this October and we will see how this affects the COVID cases in the run up to the Autumn and Winter season. When this happens, China will be the last bastion in the world at maintaining their zero COVID policy. Not a very wise economic move as the United States continues to increase interest and borrowing rates, resulting in a drop in the global currency exchange. But this move in the US is meant to put pressure on their own economy as well, which should address the labor situation there, resulting in lay-offs and putting themselves into recession in order to pay for the COVID-19 economic damage.

Back in East Asia, the Philippines now has the highest reproduction number at 1.13 (+/- 0.05) as this is the only country seeing a continued rise in cases in the region. Three regions in the Philippines make up more than 75% of the daily cases – the epicenter Mega Manila (known as the National Capital Region) which accounts for more than 50% of the daily cases, and Central Luzon and CALABARZON (region IVA).

As the positivity in NCR continues to rise, the numbers are not expected to decline anytime soon. In addition, while the number of cases continue to increase, the testing by PCR is on a decline. This is the reason why the announced cases are ‘artificial’. The country also does not count antigen test results and the doctors and patients that do antigen testing are not mandated to report the test results (unlike Japan where healthcare providers must provide the government with test results – antigen or PCR).

On a per capita basis (cases per million population), it is Taiwan that leads the region with close to 1700 new daily cases per million people. Japan’s numbers together with their reproduction number have significantly dropped. Sadly, the Philippines has been seeing a rise in Rt and is unable to maintain a low Rt for 4 consecutive weeks.

The Health Agency announces 2691 new cases with 29 added deaths and a positivity rate of 15.3% (unchanged from yesterday). However, NCR’s positivity rate is almost 18% as it registers 1354 of today’s cases.

Today’s haul was led by three region – NCR, Region IVA and Region III. These three regions alone made up 80% of the cases for the day.

While 16 of 17 LGUs in the National Capital Region reported double or triple digits, Quezon City took the haul with 340 cases today or almost 13% of the total reported cases in the country belonged to one LGU in Mega Manila alone. Other LGUs in NCR with triple digits were: Manila 160, Makati 105 and Taguig 100. Those that saw double digits were: Caloocan 89, Pasig 87, Marikina 78, Parañaque 74, Pasay City and Las Piñas 56, Mandaluyong 55, Muntinlupa 43, Valenzuela 37, Malabon 27, San Juan 26 and Navotas 13.

Provinces outside of NCR with triple digits were: Cavite 194, Rizal 165, Bulacan, and Laguna 109. Those with more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Davao del Sur 82 ( with 48 from Davao City), Cebu 58 and Batangas 58.

The Health Agency announces 2378 new cases, 35 added deaths and 15.3% positivity today. NCR accounted for 43.1% of the cases today with 1026 cases.

Sixteen of 17 LGUs in NCR had double or triple digits, with Quezon City leading the haul with 238 cases followed by Manila with 118. Those with double digits were: Makati 93, Pasig 82, Taguig 69, Caloocan 68, Parañaque 67, Mandaluyong 51, Valenzuela and Las Piñas 45 each, Marikina 38, Pasay City 32, Muntinlupa 23, Malabon 21, San Juan 16 and Navotas 14.

Outside NCR, four provinces raked in triple digits: Rizal 159, Cavite 122, Tarlac 109 and Laguna 100.

Those with more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Bulacan 98 and Pampanga.

Cases were mostly in Central Luzon, Southern Luzon and NCR with these three regions accounting for 75% of the total cases.

The Health Agency announces 2702 new cases with 38 added deaths and 14.9% positivity today. NCR continued to own the bulk of cases, with 1315 reported today.

There were 16 of 17 LGUs in NCR that had double or triple digits today. This was led by Quezon City with 289 cases. Manila came next with 164 and Pasig 129. Double digits came from Makati 94, Caloocan 93, Taguig 81, Mandaluyong 72, Parañaque 71, Valenzuela 65, Las Piñas 59, Pasay City 53, Marikina 48, Muntinlupa 35, Malabon 20, San Juan and Navotas 18 each.

Outside NCR, the provinces of Cavite (149), Rizal (147) and Bulacan (114) saw triple digits today.

Areas that saw more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Laguna 86, Batangas 72, Pampanga 50, Cebu 52 and Davao del Sur 97 (with 38 coming from Davao City).

The Health Agency announces 1886 new cases with 37 added deaths and 14.5% positivity rate. NCR owned half of the cases for today.

NCR led with 931 cases. Two LGUs had triple digits: Quezon City 231 and Mandaluyong 129. Twelve LGUs had double digits: Caloocan 72, Makati 63, Pasig 62, Marikina 60, Las Piñas and Mandaluyong 50 each, Pasay City 44, Parañaque 40, Taguig 37, Muntinlupa 34, Valenzuela 22 and Malabon 17.

Outside NCR, Cavite led with 123 cases. The other province with triple digits was Rizal with 111 cases. Provinces with more than 50 but less than 100 cases were: Laguna 77, Bulacan 58 and Tarlac 56.