Fewer people in Metro Manila have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past seven days, according to researcher-statistician Dr. Guido David.

David said that the one-week Covid-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila further decreased to 10 percent, while six other places showed increases.

The positivity rate in the National Capital Region, he said, recorded on 29 October was at 10 percent, lesser than last week's 12.3 percent.

From 22 to 29 October, positivity rates in Bataan, La Union, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Zambales, Pampanga, and Camarines Sur were also lower.

Despite a decrease, Tarlac remains to have the highest positivity rate at 36.8 percent. Its previous rate was 50.6 percent.

A lower number of individuals testing positive for Covid-19 were also found in Aklan, South Cotabato, and Davao del Sur.

However, an independent monitoring group found six places that showed an upsurge in positivity rates — Benguet, Isabela, Misamis Oriental, Cebu, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.

The most significant growth was noted in Benguet in the last seven days at 21.1 percent from last week's 7 percent.

On Sunday, the Health Department recorded 1,370 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the active cases to 20,824.

The daily average of Covid-19 cases nationwide may reach 18,000 in the next two months should the public opt to ditch the wearing of masks, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Monday.

"According to projections, toward November and December of this year, if we stop wearing masks, cases could go as high as 18,000," she said in a radio interview.

Vergeire said every person has to know the risks and be able to decide whether one can afford not to wear a mask in certain situations considering that the government has already lifted the mandatory wearing of masks in almost all public places, except for medical facilities.