LUCENA CITY – The number of active coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Quezon continued to drop, authorities reported Saturday.
The decline came despite a surge of new virus carriers recorded late last year.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), in its 10 a.m. bulletin on Saturday, said the present number of 244 active virus carriers in the province was down from 343 on Feb. 1.
The highest tally of active COVID-19 cases in Quezon was recorded on Nov. 12 last year – 1,119–and dropped to 241 in the twice-a-day count on the afternoon of Feb. 12, its lowest daily tally.
“Most people now have learned and are now observing safety and health protocols. That is one primary reason behind the remarkable decline of cases in the province,” Janet Geneblazo, Quezon public information officer, said in a phone interview Saturday.
Lucena City, the provincial capital, now has only 37 active cases, which peaked at 279 on Oct. 21 last year.
Lucena Mayor Roderick Alcala, in an earlier interview, said the remarkable drop in the number of active virus carriers in the city’s daily tally can be attributed to diminishing ‘pasaway’ (stubborn) persons in the locality.
The mayor also explained that the sharp decline of COVID-19 cases was also due to the strict safety protocols being implemented by more than 600 barangay community task force (BCTF) members.
Since Dec. 7, the BCTF has been conducting regular patrols in the city’s 33 villages to arrest violators of the city ordinance requiring the wearing of face masks and distancing of at least one meter.
As of Saturday morning, Lucena logged 1,552 COVID-19 cases, 1,460 recoveries and 55 fatalities, the highest in the province.
The IPHO records also indicated a downward trend of new COVID-19 cases in the province.
From Feb. 1 to 13, a total of only 185 cases have so far been recorded. From Jan. 1 to 31, the province logged 696 COVID-19 cases.
In December, the province logged 845 cases, in November 1,612, and in October 1,717.
Quezon, still under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) status, have logged 7,099 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic was declared in March last year, but at least 6,619 have recovered.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Quezon stands at 236, with at least 12 fatalities recorded after two weeks in February.
Sixteen of the 41 towns in the province are now considered virus-free as they no longer have any active cases as of Feb. 13.
Those previously infected in these localities have either recovered or had died, the report showed.