LUCENA CITY –– Batangas has 72 new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, authorities reported Sunday.
The Batangas Provincial Public Information Office said 41 of the new cases are from Lipa. It cited the latest bulletin from the Provincial Health Office (PHO), posted at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Lipa also recorded the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the province, with 143 of the current total of 723 active virus carriers.
Batangas has recorded 13,858 COVID-19 cases and 12,689 recoveries since the pandemic was declared in March last year.
The data showed that 73 virus carriers had died due to the illness since the start of 2021. Last year, the province recorded 364 COVID-19 deaths.
The PHO reported that a COVID-19 patient in Batangas City also died, bringing the death toll in the province to 437.
Batangas City has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the province with 2,632, followed by Lipa City, 1,656, and Tanauan City, 1,455.
With the surge in the number of COVID-19 patients, three hospitals in Lipa have temporarily closed their doors to local suspected virus carriers.
On March 21, the Lipa city government posted on its Facebook page the advisories from three hospitals – Lipa Medix Medical Center, Mary Mediatrix Medical Center, and Metro Lipa Medical Center – informing the public that the beds allotted for COVID-19 patients have reached capacity.
The medical facilities have advised the public to bring suspected COVID-19 cases to other hospitals.