Ilocos Norte posts record-high daily COVID-19 cases at 122

A health worker in Ilocos Norte prepares to administer a vaccine against COVID-19. (Photo courtesy of Ilocos Norte provincial government)

LAOAG CITY—Ilocos Norte recorded Sunday at least 122 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day tally in the province since the pandemic began in 2020, officials said.

The new infections pushed the total number of active cases to 1,024.

It is the second consecutive day that the province logged more than a hundred cases, with 101 new infections on Saturday.

Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc has asked the public to avoid gatherings, which were earlier identified as the “super spreader” in the province.

Laoag, the province’s capital city, reverted Saturday to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) for having the highest number of active cases in the province. Its latest tally was 362. Bangui town was placed on general community quarantine with 100 active cases.

MECQ is the second most restrictive form of quarantine, while GCQ is the third out of the four classifications in the country.

An uptick in infections was also noted in Batac City, with 105 active cases.

The Department of Health said the daily average attack rate of 11.49 percent in Ilocos Norte is considered high.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the province had alarmed the public, who clamored for a faster, more efficient rollout of the vaccines against the disease.

The latest data from the provincial government showed that at least 62,772 doses of vaccines had been administered to the A1, A2, and A3 priority groups, with 6,624 of them fully vaccinated.

The province expects to receive this month at least 120,000 doses of the UK-made AstraZeneca vaccines ordered last February.

The total of COVID-19 cases in Ilocos Norte have reached 4,602, of which 3,496 had recovered while 82 had died.

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