MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila will remain under the laxest quarantine classification until the end of June despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases that the Department of Health says has barely impacted hospital and intensive care utilization rates.

COVID-19 infections are steadily increasing, with private think tank OCTA Research flagging the rise of the reproduction rate in the capital region to 1.59. This is the number of people a person with the coronavirus can infect and should ideally be less than one.

The positivity rate in Metro Manila also increased to 2.7%, although the figure is still below the 5-percent threshold of the World Health Organization to indicate that the spread of the coronavirus is under control.

The seven-day average of COVID-19 infections also grew by 53% to 131 from 86.

On Monday, the Department of Health said that the capital region could go back to a more stringent Alert Level 2 if the rise in cases leads to a significant increase in hospital admissions.

DOH recorded 1,682 additional infections from June 6 to 12, 30% higher than a week earlier.