THE coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positivity and reproduction rates in the National Capital Region (NCR) are on an upward trend, Octa Research said on Sunday, September 11, 2022.Octa Research Fellow Doctor Guido David said Metro Manila’s positivity rate went up to 13.3 percent, as of September 9, from 12.1 percent on September 2.Positivity rate refers to the number of individuals testing positive for the virus after getting tested versus those who tested negative.David said the NCR had an average of 10,247 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) Covid-19 tests per day over the past week.The reproduction rate in the region also went up to 1.11, as of September 7, from 0.93 on August 31.“The reproduction number has increased to greater than 1, which means infections are increasing,” said David.From September 3 to 10, the Covid-19 growth rate in the NCR was at six percent compared to the -17 percent during the week prior.David said the average daily attack rate in the NCR also “increased slightly” to 5.58 per 100,000 population.“This is still considered low. Covid-19 hospital bed occupancy and ICU occupancy both remained low, at 34.5 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively,” he said.David said the slow uptick of cases in the Metro is “not unexpected” considering the increased mobility of people.He said the vulnerable sector, which includes the elderly and individuals with comorbidities, is advised to take extra necessary precautions.The country had a total of 26,074 active Covid-19 cases, as of September 10. Of which, 8,558 were in Metro Manila, which also had a total of 13,185 Covid-19 related deaths since 2020. (SunStar Philippines)