LUCENA CITY –– The number of active coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Quezon province continued to drop after a surge during the holiday season, authorities reported Tuesday.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), in its 5 p.m. bulletin on Jan. 19, said the 376 active virus carriers in the province was down from 381 on Jan. 18 and 397 on Jan. 17.
The highest tally of active COVID-19 cases in Quezon was recorded on Nov. 12 last year – 1,119 and dropped to 245 on Jan. 4, its lowest daily tally.
Lucena City, the provincial capital, now has only 69 active cases, which peaked at 83 on Jan. 12.
As of Tuesday, 16 of 41 towns have had no new COVID-19 case, down from 20 towns earlier listed as free of the disease.
Those previously infected in the localities have either recovered or died, the report shows.
Quezon had a surge of new COVID-19 cases following the Christmas and New Year breaks, which confirms the prediction of health authorities.
The IPHO recorded 456 new cases from Jan. 1 to Jan. 19, with 317 recoveries during the same period.
Quezon, still under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status, logged 6,671 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic was declared in early March last year, but at least 6,086 have recovered.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Quezon stands at 209, with at least 22 fatalities recorded in the new year.
Health office records showed that at least 131 persons suspected of infection were confined in hospitals, while at least 181 were on home quarantine as of Tuesday.
LZB