The Quezon City coronavirus disease (Covid-19) reproduction number has gone down to its lowest in six weeks.

According to OCTA Research, the city’s reproduction number, which shows how contagious an infectious disease is or the number of people who can get the virus from one infected person, is now 0.67 from Oct. 7 to 13, down from 0.80 on Sept. 30 to Oct 6.

The city also recorded 0.91 last Sept. 2 to 8, 0.83 (Sept. 9 to 15), 0.76 (Sept. 16 to 22), and 0.78 last Sept. 23 to 29.

The latest data is now closer to the ideal reproductive number of 0.50 set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit (CESU) also reported that it has tallied an 89-percent recovery rate for Covid-19 patients.

“The lowering of our reproductive number and the high recovery rate are significant as these are indications that we are doing the right thing in Quezon City. We owe it to our front-liners, our health workers and our barangay leaders, for continuing to serve our QCitizens (Quezon City citizens) with great passion and sacrifice,” Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

“Our goal is to further lessen the number of people that one infected person will pass on the virus to, and at the same time, isolate and treat those who got the virus. This way, our economy gets its needed boost,” she added.

However, she said this should not be a reason for citizens to let their guards down, emphasizing that the continued enforcement of safety protocols is important to sustain the drop.

“This should not be a reason to relax or celebrate. We thank our QCitizens for observing health protocols. We encourage them to remain practicing social distancing and the wearing of masks in public places,” she added.

Joseph Juico, QC Task Force on Covid-19 head, said the lower reproduction number and the high recovery rate are important as they could signal the further opening of the local economy.

Juico is confident that the opening of the city’s own molecular laboratory will further sustain the drop.

“Having our own molecular laboratory is crucial since it will boost our community testing efforts and we will be self-sufficient in terms of our testing,” Juico said. (PNA)