Batangas records 16 deaths, 340 new COVID-19 cases

LUCENA CITY –– The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19 cases in Batangas continues to rise, with 16 more deaths and 340 new infections recorded on Thursday, April 8.

The Provincial Health Office (PHO), reported in its April 8 bulletin that the 16 patients who died were residents of Batangas City (4), Lipa City (4), and in the towns of Ibaan (3), Cuenca (2), Padre Garcia (1), Rosario (1) and Sta Teresita (1).

The death toll in the province is now at 524 since March last year, with 43 of them recorded from April 1 to 8.

The latest data showed that 160 patients have died of the illness since January this year. Last year, the province recorded 364 COVID-19 deaths.

Batangas City has the highest number of deaths with 97, followed by Lipa City, 94.

The PHO recorded that as of April 8, Batangas, under general community quarantine, has 17,679 COVID-19 cases with 340 new cases. At least 14,070 of them have recovered.

From April 1 to 8, the province recorded 1,779 new cases, bringing the number of active virus carriers to 3,085 as of April 8 from 2,110 eight days ago.

Batangas City has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the province with 3,017, followed by Lipa City, 2,545, and Tanauan City, 1,742.

Lipa City has the highest active cases with 696, followed by Batangas City with 321.

The province has 1,691 active “suspected” cases and 50 “probables.”

Amid the continuous spike in COVID-19 cases in Batangas, the Department of Health (DOH) has brought two modular tents in San Juan District Hospital in San Juan town and Mabini Community Hospital in Mabini town.

The 44-bed capacity fully covered modular tents will serve as an extension of these hospitals.

Dr. Eduardo Janairo, DOH Calabarzon director, classified Batangas province as a “high-risk” area in terms of the bed occupancy rate of 74.3 percent.

“We have to be prepared to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients not only from the provinces but also those of nearby Metro Manila,” Janairo said Wednesday.

The hospitals and other health facilities in the region are already accepting COVID-19 patients from the National Capital Region for treatment and care, according to Janairo.

The DOH-Calabarzon has also distributed 14 tents as emergency medical care units to 14 hospitals in Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon.

Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas has ordered more isolation facilities in strategic areas in the province to contain the continuous spike of new virus carriers. INQ

LZB