Seven more COVID-19 patients die in Quezon

Quezon province has intensified its vaccination program amid a rise in COVID-19 cases. Image from Facebook / Integrated Provincial Health Office – Quezon

LUCENA CITY – At least seven more patients succumbed to COVID-19 in Quezon, bringing the death toll in the province to 22 in the first three days of August.

The Integrated Provincial Health Office reported on Wednesday, August 3, that the latest fatalities included four in Tiaong town and three in Lucena City. No other details were made available on the latest fatalities.

On Tuesday, the IPHO reported four COVID-19 fatalities – three in Tayabas City and one in Sariaya town.

On Monday, seven more COVID-19 patients died, including three in Candelaria; Tayabas City, 2; and one each in Catanauan and Lopez towns.

The day before, the IPHO reported three fatalities in Candelaria and one in Agdangan town.

The latest fatalities brought to 785 the number of persons who died due to COVID-19 complications in Quezon province since the pandemic struck in March last year, IPHO reports showed.

Last month, at least 99 individuals succumbed to the dreaded illness. In June, the IPHO recorded 140 deaths, higher than the 125 logged in May and the 114 recorded in April.

Lucena, the capital city of Quezon, has the highest number of fatalities at 143.

Lucena City is under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until August 15.

Quezon, which remains under general community quarantine until August 31, still has 869 active cases, including those in Lucena City.

The town of Candelaria, located in the central part of the province, topped the list among the 39 municipalities and two cities in the province with the most active cases at 239, followed by Lucena with 177.

According to the Department of Health, Quezon is the only province in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region without any confirmed COVID-19 Delta variant case.

However, IPHO head Dr. Grace Santiago disclosed last week that a resident of the province has been traced as a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 Delta variant case in Laguna province.

The close contact has since been isolated in an undisclosed facility.

Santiago warned that if the genome sequencing result from the Philippine Genome Center turned out positive of the highly infectious Delta variant, “the close contact might have transmitted it to others.”

The Delta variant is said to be more transmissible than other COVID-19 variants, health authorities said.

EDV