LUCENA CITY –– The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) fatalities in Batangas province has jumped to 504 after six more patients died.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported on April 6 at 3 p.m. the demise of two virus carriers in Batangas City and four in Lipa City, Sto. Tomas City and the towns of Bauan and Taysan.
The PHO report said a total of 140 COVID-19 patients had died since the start of 2021. At least 23 of the fatalities died in the first six days of April.
Last year, the province recorded 364 COVID-19 deaths.
As of April 6, Batangas, which is still under general community quarantine (GCQ), had 17,105 COVID-19 patients since the pandemic was declared in March last year, with the addition of 247 new cases.
At least 13,807 of the recorded virus carriers have recovered.
Batangas City has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the province with 2,952, followed by Lipa City, 2,414, and Tanauan City, 1,707.
The province has 2,794 remaining active cases, which were only 2,110 on April 1, or a surge of 684 patients in six days.
Lipa City still has the highest active cases with 617, followed by Batangas City, the provincial capital, with 285.
Gov. Hermilando Mandanas had ordered strict enforcement of protocols from the National Inter-Agency Task Force.
Mandanas also ordered the establishment of more isolation facilities in strategic areas in the province to contain COVID-19.