MANILA — The Philippines' daily tally of COVID-19 cases might drop to less than 1,000 by March, the OCTA research group said on Wednesday, as it recommended precautions during the election campaign period that kicked off this week.

OCTA fellow Guido David noted that in Metro Manila, the attack rate or proportion of people who become ill with COVID-19 has gone down to less than 10 percent following a surge last January.

He said the positivity rate or the percentage of people who test positive for coronavirus in the capital region was at 9.6 percent.

David said that of the daily tally of new infections, "We’re hoping by March, babalik na iyan sa 3 digits, basta tuloy-tuloy na iyong pagbaba ng bilang ng kaso at walang mangyayaring mga spikes or major upticks."

(We’re hoping by March, it will return to 3 digits, as long as the decline in cases continues and there would be no spikes or major upticks.)

This figure will be "comparable" to the COVID-19 numbers back in November and December last year, said David, a mathematics professor at the University of the Philippines.

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COVID-19 figures hit several record-highs in January, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. OCTA earlier projected the omicron uptick would ebb by March or April.

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The Philippines on Tuesday recorded 3,574 fresh infections, the lowest so far this year.

National candidates on the same day launched their campaigns for the May elections, drawing huge crowds in some areas.

COVID-19 super spreader events could be prevented if campaign rallies are held outdoors or in well ventilated areas, and if participants always keep their anti-virus masks on, David said in a public briefing.

He said those who join campaign events should also be "ideally vaccinated."

"Patuloy pa rin sa pag-iingat tayo at pagsunod sa minimum public health standards. Iyan iyong isa sa mga malaking factor kung bakit tayo nakaabot sa ganitong kalagayan na gumaganda naman ang sitwasyon natin," said David.

(Let us continue taking precautions and following minimum public health standards. That was a big factor on why we reached this improving situation.)

He added he hoped more people would get booster jabs.

The Philippines has logged some 3.6 million overall coronavirus cases, with 54,690 deaths. About 60 million of the country's 109 million population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while at least 8.2 million have received booster shots.

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Lawmakers have criticized OCTA Research for the accuracy of its COVID-19 projections. The group said it uses data from the Department of Health.