COVID-19 hits 147 health workers in Quezon in 12 days
LUCENA CITY–The continued spike in COVID-19 cases in Quezon was starting to take its toll on health care workers (HCW) across the province.
Dr. Tiong Eng Roland Tan, officer-in-charge of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) reported that from Jan. 4 to 16, at least 147 HCWs contracted COVID-19.
Tan did not provide further information on infected HCWs that include doctors, nurses, nursing aides, and barangay health workers.
On Saturday, Jan. 15, Dr. Rolando Padre, director of the provincial government-run Quezon Medical Center (QMC) in this city, reported at least 17 doctors and 20 other health workers, including 13 nurses in the hospital, contracted the viral disease.
The infected QMC health care workers were fully vaccinated and had booster shots, which meant they did not require hospitalization and just went for home quarantine.
On Jan. 17, Quezon recorded 238 new COVID-19 cases. The surge brought the number of active infections across the province to 1,663, the IPHO bulletin showed.
The number was a huge jump since the province had only nine active cases on Dec. 22 last year.
This month, Quezon has recorded 2,074 new cases so far, a big increase from the December tally of 64 infections and 211 in November.
The sudden spike in new cases amid the ongoing threat of the highly contagious Omicron variant prompted the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to place Quezon under the more stringent Alert Level 3 until Jan. 31.
To curb the rise in new virus carriers in the province, Gov. Danilo Suarez spelled out strict measures, including a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., under his Executive Order No. 02.
Suarez said mayors could issue additional restrictions, including the declaration of “granular lockdowns” in their respective localities for not less than 14 days with the exemptions allowed by law and existing rules and regulations by the national authorities.
He urged government agencies to ensure that restrictions and minimum public health standards are strictly followed, especially in closed and crowded spaces.
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