LUCENA CITY—The active COVID-19 cases in Quezon province climbed to 30, with nine more recorded on Tuesday.
Data from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) as of 5 p.m. on July 5 showed that the three new patients are in Sariaya; two in Tiaong; and one each in San Antonio, Perez, Pagbilao, and this city.
The current active COVID-19 infections were in Sariaya, with eight cases; Lucena City, six; San Antonio, five; Pagbilao, Candelaria, and Tiaong, three each; Pitogo, and Perez, with one each.
On June 3, Lucena City, the capital of Quezon, was the only locality in the province with active COVID-19 cases. The city had two recorded infected residents then.
This July, Quezon has logged 20 new COVID-19 cases, 10 recoveries, and no deaths.
Dr. Tiong Eng Roland Tan, IPHO chief, said the drop in pandemic restrictions, the complacent observance of health protocols by the public, and proximity to other provinces with high COVID-19 infections caused the recent spike in the cases in Quezon.
Tan said most of the infected patients only have mild to moderate symptoms. Some are in hospital confinement, while others were on home isolation.
“There is no active case that is severe or critical,” he said.
The IPHO did not provide information on the COVID-19 variants of the active cases in the province.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases placed this city and 14 other municipalities in the province under alert level 1 until July 15.
The rest of Quezon’s 26 localities will remain under alert level 2.
As of July 5, Quezon has 32,947 COVID-19 cases, 31,357 recoveries, and 1,560 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Rising
In the Calabarzon, the active COVID-19 cases reached 944 on July 5 from 113 on June 1.
The Department of Health (DOH)–Calabarzon recorded 140 new cases as of 3 p.m.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health detected at least 70 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron BA.4, BA.5, and BA2.12.1 subvariants.
Of the 43 BA.5 cases, at least seven are from Calabarzon. The region has four of the 20 new BA.2.12.1 cases.
The IATF placed Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal under alert level 1, the most lenient of the five-tier alert status, until July 15.