Quezon mayor fears ‘community transmission’ of COVID-19

LUCENA CITY –– The mayor of Catanauan town in Quezon province has cautioned his townmates that a possible “community transmission” of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused the infection of the locality’s latest patient, a 2-year-old boy.

Mayor Ramon Orfanel, in a video message on Facebook on Tuesday night, said the contamination of the boy, a resident of Barangay 10, could be caused by community transmission.

Community transmission happens when there is no clear source of origin of the infection in a locality.

Catanauan, located in the Bondoc Peninsula district, logged a total of 10 COVID-19 cases.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Quezon Public Information Office (QPIO), citing the latest information from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), disclosed that three of the patients have recovered.

All COVID-19 patients from Catanauan have been confined at the provincial government-run Quezon Medical Center (QMC) in Lucena City.

Orfanel ordered the continuous implementation of strict lockdown and quarantine measures in areas where the 10 COVID-19 patients originated. Non-residents were also barred from entering it, while residents could not leave without a government permit.

The latest bulletin by the local government on its official Facebook says the young patient was first admitted at the Bondoc Peninsula Hospital also in Catanauan due to fever with convulsion.

His case was still being investigated by the authorities and aggressive contact tracing was ongoing, Orfanel said.
The boy has also been transferred to QMC.

LZB