THE National Capital Region (NCR), or Metro Manila, has recorded 211,123 infections and 3,818 deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as of January 2, 2021, the highest cumulative numbers in the country, based on the latest situation report by the Department of Health (DOH).
Central Visayas, on the other hand, had the highest case fatality rate of 5.18 percent on January 2 as DOH recorded 1,388 deaths from Covid-19 out of 26,797 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.
The case fatality rate (CFR) is the proportion of people who die from Covid-19 among those who tested positive for Sars-CoV-2.
The CFR in Metro Manila is one of the lowest in the country at 1.81 percent as of January 2. Nationwide, the average CFR fluctuates between 1.93 percent and 1.95 percent.
On January 2, the CFR was 1.94 percent as deaths increased to 9,253 out of the 476,916 confirmed cases. A total of 439,942 have been tagged as recoveries.
Based on the DOH report, only NCR registered more than 200,000 cases of infection. The rest of the regions had less than 100,000 cases each.
NCR, which is composed of 16 highly urbanized cities and one municipality, has a population of more than 13 million, the second biggest among the 17 regions in the country.
NCR was followed by Calabarzon with 87,338 cases and Central Luzon with 31,940 cases. Calabarzon has the biggest population of more than 14 million people (2015 census).
Central Visayas came in fourth with 26,797, followed by Western Visayas with 22,952, Davao Region with 13,161 and Eastern Visayas with 11,837.
The rest of the regions had less than 10,000 cases each.
There were also 13,836 cases among repatriates while 3,206 cases were still being validated.
In terms of deaths, NCR had the highest at 3,818 followed by Central Visayas with 1,388, Calabarzon with 1,124, Central Luzon with 621, Western Visayas with 594 and Davao Region with 335.
The rest of the regions had less than 200 deaths, the DOH report showed.
Other regions with a CFR that is higher than the national average were Caraga (3.67 percent), Zamboanga Peninsula (3.05 percent), Bicol Region (2.8 percent), Soccsksargen (2.72 percent), Ilocos (2.63 percent), Western Visayas (2.59 percent), Bangsamoro (2.56 percent) and Davao Region (2.55 percent). (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)