Lucena mayor urges residents to remain vigilant despite drop in COVID-19 cases

LUCENA CITY — Lucena Mayor Roderick Alcala has called on residents to remain vigilant amid the continuous dramatic drop of COVID-19 cases in the city.

Alcala reported that most hospitals in the city had no reported COVID-19 patients in the past several days as only one resident was tested positive from the coronavirus on Saturday, November 6.

“But this does not mean that we will now be complacent. We all still have to maintain disciplined by observing all safety protocols to prevent the resurgence of new cases,” the mayor reminded the public in his speech at SM Lucena shopping mall on Saturday afternoon.

The mayor also disclosed that the number of COVID-19 fatalities in the city, which have to be cremated according to government protocols, is now down to zero compared to an average of 30 bodies in a single day last month.

“For the past week, we don’t have any report of cremation,” Alcala said.

The city recorded 194 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic started in March last year.

Lucena, now placed under the less stringent Alert Level 2 until November 14, had been recording a significant decline of new infections.

As of November 6, the city health office reported 180 active COVID-19 cases from 571 recorded on October 14.

At least 136,360 residents in this capital city of Quezon province have been administered vaccines against COVID-19 as of October 26.

According to the city public information office, at least 57,323 city folks had already received their second dose of the vaccine.

The current number of fully vaccinated individuals is 30.8 percent of the target population to create herd immunity.

“We’re now inching our way to achieve herd immunity,” he said.

Lucena, classified as a highly urbanized city, would need to inoculate at least 70 percent or 186,000 of its 266,000 population as of the 2015 census to achieve herd immunity.

The report also said 79,037 residents had been injected the first dose.

Also under Alert Level 2, Quezon province has also been recording a remarkable drop in COVID-19 cases.

The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in its 5 p.m. bulletin on Saturday recorded only three new COVID-19 cases.

The recorded active cases in Quezon have also consequently declined to 397 from the highest single-day tally of 2,570 on September 21, the IPHO record showed.

The COVID-19 death toll in Quezon now stands at 1,422.

At least seven of the 41 municipalities in the province no longer have any recorded COVID-19 cases as of Saturday.

Considered COVID-19-free are Plaridel, Real, General Nakar, Mulanay, Patnanungan, Perez and Jomalig towns. Those previously infected in these municipalities have either recovered or died.