Quezon province records 10 COVID-19-related deaths

LUCENA CITY –– Ten coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related deaths were recorded in Quezon province, authorities reported Thursday, Sept. 3.

The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in its 5 p.m. bulletin disclosed that nine people suspected of having contracted COVID-19 have died, bringing the total number of fatalities among “suspects” to 99 from 90 in its earlier 10 a.m. report.

The Department of Health (DOH) said a person is considered a suspected carrier if he or she shows symptoms like fever, cough, or sore throat two weeks after contact with an infected person or persons or had come from an infected place.

Those with symptoms but belong to what is considered as a vulnerable segment of the population—elderly, those with pre-existing health conditions, pregnant women, and health care workers—are also tagged as coronavirus suspects.

The IPHO also reported the death of another individual classified as a “probable” virus carrier. The death toll among patients classified as “probable” cases is now 23.

A person is a “probable” case if his/her COVID-19 results are inconclusive, and he/she had been tested in an unofficial laboratory that does the confirmatory testing.

The authorities did not provide details on the “probable” and “suspect” fatalities or even the cause of their demise.

The list of 99 “suspects” who died covers only the period April 14 to the present.

From March 15 to April 13, the IPHO record showed 44 deaths under the “person under investigation” classification, which was replaced by the “suspect” category in the Department of Health (DOH) reclassification.

Quezon has over 390 suspected virus carriers, all confined in medical facilities. Another 613 suspects remain under home quarantine.

Quezon, which reverted to modified general community quarantine, has recorded 1,170 COVID-19 cases, 424 of which remain active. At least 708 of them have recovered, while 38 have died.

LZB