2 barangays in Real, Quezon on lockdown as COVID-19 cases rise

LUCENA CITY – Two barangays in Real, Quezon have been placed on lockdown due to rising coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, which included an 11-month old baby girl.

The local government announced on social media on Wednesday that Barangays Ungos and Poblacion 61 would be under “localized enhanced community quarantine” (LECQ) for seven days starting August 27, after the villages recorded a spike in new COVID-19 cases.

While under LECQ, the quarantine passes issued to residents in the two villages were suspended and only persons authorized to shop for essential goods for their families would be allowed to leave their homes.

Public transportation in and out of these villages were also suspended, with police manning checkpoints to prevent the entry of outsiders and exit of unauthorized villagers.

The village of Ungos has four active virus carriers. Poblacion 61 has 14 cases, including the baby girl who contracted the disease from another local carrier.

On Wednesday, Real Mayor Diana Abigail Diestro-Aquino disclosed that four of the latest confirmed COVID-19 patients in her town were councilors, two of them are residents of Ungos.

Real town, located in the northern part of the province, logged a total of 38 COVID-19 cases, 32 of which remained active.

Quezon province, which reverted to general community quarantine until Aug. 31, has 953 COVID-19 cases, with 525 recoveries and 31 deaths, as of Wednesday.

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