PUERTO PRINCESA CITY –– The COVID-19 surge in this city hit its biggest single-day spike of 121 new cases and three deaths, according to the City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit bulletin Monday.
The new cases are mostly from urban villages.
The deaths include a 39-year-old woman from Barangay Tiniguiban, a 48-year-old man from Iwahig, and an 87-year-old woman from San Miguel, according to city information officer Richard Ligad.
The latest spike overshadowed the reported recovery of 57 active cases.
The city now has 594 active cases, the highest peak of local transmission cases, from 1,309 confirmed cases, with 689 recoveries and 26 deaths.
Lawyer Norman Yap, spokesperson of the City IATF, acknowledged the OCTA Research Group findings that flagged Puerto Princesa as an area of concern.
It cited the local government rolling out policy interventions through two executive orders, including the imposition of workplace regulations and establishing the COVID-19 Sheriff program that is expected to reinforce the strict implementation of local health protocols.
“We have been addressing and will continue to address this concern. [We implemented] localized ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and hard lockdown last month, the continued liquor ban and curfew, and the extended travel ban,” Yap said.
The OCTA Research Group flagged Puerto Princesa as an “area of concern” due to the surge of COVID-19 infections, noting a 78-percent spike in cases, which was significantly higher than the infection rate in Metro Manila that is now down to -27 percent.
Meanwhile, Ospital Ng Palawan GeneXpert COVID-19 Laboratory, the primary testing facility in the Palawan, will halt operations for a week to give way for “cleaning and maintenance.”
The COVID-19 laboratory will cease operation starting May 10 until the 14th, expecting a slow down in reporting of new cases as the Disease Reporting Units have also been advised to resume collecting samples only after the maintenance run.
April and May have seen a steady rise not only in the number of total COVID-19 cases in the city, which stands at 594 as of Monday.