The positivity rate, the number of people testing for Covid-19, in the National Capital Region (NCR) increased to 12.7 percent as of Sept. 7, the OCTA Research Group said Thursday.

In a televised public briefing, OCTA Research Group fellow Dr. Butch Ong noted that the figure is a 0.6 percent increase from NCR’s 12.1 percent positivity rate as of Sept. 3.

“Siyempre sa increased mobility ng ating mga kababayan sa communities nila ‘no, maaari din dahil siyempre mas marami na ang tao sa labas at pumapasok sa opisina, sa paaralan (Of course, the increased mobility rate of our fellowmen in their communities, because many people are going to offices, schools),” he said.

However, NCR’s positivity rate is on a downtrend for the last several weeks before it slightly went up, he added.

As of Sept. 7, the country’s positivity rate is 11.6 percent, with 1,750 new cases, 49 deaths, and 2,025 recoveries reported.

There are 22,899 active cases.

“So, hinihikayat natin na kahit sa paaralan ay i-maintain pa rin natin ang ating mga precautionary or safety measures against Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] para hindi lalong umakyat ang ating mga numbers (So, we’re encouraging our schools to maintain our precautionary or safety measures against Covid-19 to keep our numbers from going up),” Ong said. (PNA)