LUCENA CITY –– The surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Quezon province continues with the highest number of active virus carriers recorded in a single day on Sunday.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), in its 5 p.m. bulletin on Sunday, showed that Quezon recorded 1,156 new cases, bringing the total number in the province to 9,540.
The current number of active cases has also surpassed the record of Nov. 12 last year, with 1,119 infections.
Lucena, the provincial capital, tops the list again with 137 active virus carriers.
Candelaria is the second locality with the most active cases with 107. Its mayor, Macario Boongaling, contracted the highly contagious illness last week.
On April 17, the virus infected Panukulan Mayor Alfredo Rigor Mitra.
As of April 18, Quezon, which is now under the general community quarantine (GCQ) until April 30, recorded 8,035 recoveries since March last year.
The COVID-19 death toll in the province is now 349.
Of 41 municipalities in Quezon, only Buenavista, General Luna, and Unisan have no active cases as of April 18.
Those previously infected in these localities have either recovered or had died, the report showed.
Gov. Danilo Suarez said there was divine intervention on the declaration of GCQ in the whole province on April 11.
“We anticipated this sudden surge. It’s alarming, but we’re coping with the situation,” Suarez said in a television interview.
Suarez appealed to Quezon residents to strictly follow all health and safety protocols under GCQ to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Grace Santiago, IPHO head, said the rising number of new cases could be partly linked to the public’s disregard of health and safety protocols.
The IPHO has yet to receive an official report from the Department of Health that the new cases are of the UK variant, according to Santiago.