Quezon logs 4 new COVID-19 cases; total now at 134

LUCENA CITY – Four more confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) patients were reported in Quezon, bringing the total number of recorded validated virus carriers in the province to 134 since the pandemic broke out.

In its noon bulletin Sunday, the Quezon Public Information Office, citing the latest data from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), traced three of the new patients to Catanuan town and another one from the municipality of Calauag. The report did not provide added details about the new four patients.

Catanauan logged a total of nine COVID-19 cases with no recovered patients yet.

Calauag recorded 10 virus carriers. However, at least eight of them have already recovered while one passed away.

The QPIO reported that of the 134 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Quezon, at least 93 have recovered, but nine others have died.

The province, which is now under general community quarantine, has a total of 32 active cases.

Discrepancy?

However, the QPIO figures did not tally with the reported COVID-19 recoveries from Lucena City.

On Saturday night, the Lucena City Public Information Office (LCPIO), citing latest data from the city Inter-Agency Task Force, reported that the capital city of the province has recorded a total of 63 COVID-19 cases.

The QPIO has the same number of recorded cases in the city.

However, the LCPIO report showed that the total number of “cleared and recovered” patients in the city has already reached 54, and thus, the remaining active virus carriers are now only nine, all confined in a medical facility.

There’s no COVID-19 death yet in this city.

But in the latest QPIO bulletin, the number of recovered patients in the city remain at 44; thus, the city still remains with at least 19 virus carriers.

The discrepancy on the reported number of recoveries between the LCPIO and QPIO has started on June 11 after the former registered the mass recovery of 23 local patients.

On June 12, the QPIO posted an explanation on its Facebook: “We maintain the standard on defining a recovered case who had two consecutive negative results on RT-PCR tests, with specimens taken 5 to 7 days apart for symptomatic patients and as early as 2 days for asymptomatic patients.”

But the QPIO explanation did not categorically specify that it is their position against the reported number of recovered patients in Lucena City.

Arnel Avila, city public information officer, emphasized that the figures on local COVID-19 cases were all validated by the city IATF.

Lucena Mayor Roderick Alcala maintained that the recovered COVID-19 patients from the city were asymptomatic.