Quezon COVID-19 cases rise to 11

LUCENA CITY –– In a matter of four hours, one more new case of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was added to the list in Quezon province bringing to 11 the total virus carriers on record, the province public information office revealed Thursday afternoon.

In a 4 p.m. report, the Quezon Public Information Office (QPIO), disclosed that the new case was traced to Sariaya town.

The QPIO did not provide other details.

Earlier around noon, the QPIO reported another new confirmed case that was traced to Unisan town, the first in the province’s 3rd district.

Sariaya, located in the central part of the province, now has two confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“We have to work doubly hard in tracing the contacts of the new case to prevent more infections,” Vice Mayor Alex Tolentino said in a phone interview.

Sariaya’s first case is a 26-year-old man with a history of travel to Batangas. He is still confined in an undisclosed medical facility and in stable condition.

The first recorded “patient under investigation,” who died in the province, was also a native of Sariaya. He was immediately cremated.

Tolentino said the test result of the casualty had yet to be released.

The local government placed Sariaya under “total lockdown” and sealed its borders from outsiders.

Manila and Bicol-bound motorists are encouraged to use the ecotourism road to prevent travelers from passing through the town center.

The other nine confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province came from this city with five, Tayabas City with one, and Sariaya, Sampaloc, and Candelaria with one each.

Edited by LZB