10 Pangasinan towns monitored for rising COVID-19 cases

Residents of Dagupan City crowd a section of one of its major thoroughfares before the New Year’s Day revelry in this photo taken on Dec. 30, 2021. | PHOTO: Willie Lomibao

DAGUPAN CITY–At least 10 Pangasinan towns were placed on the watchlist of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) after noting a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Calasiao topped the list with seven new patients, bringing to 12 the number of active cases as of Jan. 5, PHO records showed.

It is followed by the capital town of Lingayen (10 cases), San Carlos City (8) Mangaldan (7), Malasiqui (4), Sta Barbara (4), and Bautista (3).

The province reported 77 active cases, 32 of them newly confirmed. The number of patients was lowest at 23 on Dec. 30.

Calasiao Mayor Joseph Bauzon ordered the suspension of work in the local government offices from Jan. 5 to 7 after several employees were declared close contacts of a medical worker who earlier tested positive for the virus.

He said several meetings in different departments were conducted and it was likely that there was transmission among the employees. The suspension of work was to give way for disinfection and contract tracing.

Bauzon earlier placed the town’s Rural Health Units (RHU) I and II on lockdown for disinfection and contact tracing from Jan. 4 to 8, or until Inter-Agency Task Force for COVID-19 deemed it safe to resume transactions.

All services by the RHUs like vaccination, birthing clinics, laboratory, and others were suspended.

Only staff members of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office, public order and safety office, and the public market will report during the days of suspended work.

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