LUCENA CITY – A total of 227,000 residents of Quezon province have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of September 19, the Quezon Public Information Office (PIO) said Tuesday.
Data from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) showed that 210,821 others have received the first dose of the vaccine.
The province would need to inoculate at least 70 percent or 1,485,981 of its population of 2,122,830 to achieve herd immunity.
Quezon, which remains under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until Sept. 30, has been seeing an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases amid the ongoing threat of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
The Department of Health in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) said Quezon recorded 33 COVID-19 Delta variant cases and its provincial capital, Lucena City with 14 cases as of Sept. 16.
The IPHO has so far recorded 3,756 cases from Sept. 1 to Sept. 20 or at least 187 new cases a day.
The figure has so far eclipsed the 3,192 COVID-19 recorded cases last month, then the highest monthly tally since the pandemic began in March last year.
In March this year, the IPHO reported a total of 819 cases;, 2,345 in April, 2,413 in May, 2,377 in June and 1,712 in July.
As of Sept. 20, the province has 2,536 active cases from only 709 on July 23.
Lucena City, which is under strict modified enhanced community quarantine until the end of the month, topped the list with 508 active virus carriers.
The COVID-19 death toll in Quezon rose to 1,158, as 11 more patients died on Monday.
Governor Danilo Suarez appealed to the public to follow all COVID-19 safety protocols, such as wearing face masks and face shields and observing safe distancing.
“Nowadays, it is better and safer to stay home if you have no important things to do outside,” Suarez sstressed.