LUCENA CITY––For the fourth time this month, Quezon recorded on Sunday no new COVID-19 cases as the number of active infections in the province remains at a single digit.
The latest data from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) also showed no new recoveries and fatalities recorded in the province.
On April 2, 3, and 8, the IPHO also reported zero COVID-19 cases. Health authorities have recorded only nine new patients in Quezon this month.
Active COVID-19 cases in Quezon dropped to five from as high as 1,805 on Jan. 21, the height of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The highest single-day tally of active cases was recorded on Sept. 21 last year, with 2,570, at the height of the more infectious Delta variant.
The number of active infections in the province remained single-digit since March 24, with eight.
The IPHO said the number of municipalities with active virus carriers dropped to four out of 41, with 37 towns already COVID-19-free.
The four localities that still have COVID-19 patients are Lopez with two cases and one each in Lucena City and Tiaong and Sariaya.
On Friday, the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed Atimonan and Tiaong under alert level 1, the most lenient in a five-tier alert status.
The two localities have joined Lucena City, the capital of the province; Tayabas City; and the towns of Lucban, Mauban, Pagbilao, Plaridel, Polillo, Quezon, and Sampaloc under the same alert level until April 15.
IATF guidelines show that the provinces, cities, and municipalities could be downgraded to alert level 1 once they fully vaccinate 70 percent of their population and reach the required vaccination coverage for senior citizens.
The rest of the 30 towns in the province will remain under alert level 2 during the same period.
Gov. Danilo Suarez urged unvaccinated residents to get their jabs for their safety and the protection of the community and asked the public to remain vigilant in the battle against COVID-19.
As of Sunday, Quezon has recorded 32,849 COVID-19 cases, 31,284 recoveries, and 1,560 deaths.