MANILA – A health official on Monday reported a decrease in the average daily attack rate (ADAR) of Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the past two weeks.
In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the ADAR in the region from April 18-May 1 is 25 cases for every 100,000 individuals as compared to 34 cases from April 4-17.
"In February, we were only three cases per 100,000 population. During the peak of this surge, we're seeing 34 which is an eleven-fold increase in our attack rate," Vergeire said.
However, the current ADAR is still beyond the seven cases per 100,000 individuals’ threshold the government has set for high-risk classification.
Vergeire said this range of ADAR "can still overwhelm the health system."
In epidemiology, the attack rate is the percentage of an at-risk population that contracts a disease during a specified time interval.
To strengthen the country's health system capacity, the government increased the number of beds dedicated for use of patients with Covid-19 in public and private hospitals to 33,628 and intensive care unit beds to 2,849.
Vergeire also reported that the national growth rate of Covid-19 cases has improved, from 11 percent four weeks ago to the current -15 percent two-week growth rate. (PNA)
