Quezon town mayor tests positive for COVID-19

LUCENA CITY – The mayor of Candelaria town in Quezon province announced on social media that he tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mayor Macario Boongaling declared on his Facebook past midnight Friday (April 9) that he could not particularly identify the possible source of his infection though he said it could be related to the performance of his duty as the municipal mayor.

Boongaling said he is under home quarantine and following safety protocols to protect others and his family.

He said local authorities have been conducting aggressive contact tracing to prevent the spread of the disease among those who had made contacts with him.

Boongaling has called on his constituents to seriously face the threat of the highly-contagious illness and observe all health and safety protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.

As of April 10, Candelaria, has logged a total of 646 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic was declared in March last year, according to the record of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).

Record showed that at least 534 have recovered and 19 have died.

The town has 93 active cases following the renewed surge of more virus carriers in the locality.

Candelaria, along with 16 other municipalities in the province, has been placed under the stringent general community quarantine status for two weeks until April 21 to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases.