FILE PHOTO: Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), also known as novel coronavirus, isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/Handout via REUTERS
LUCENA CITY — Another COVID-19 patient died in Quezon province on Friday, May 26, bringing to eight the number of fatalities this month, the health authorities reported.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in its latest report on Friday afternoon said that a COVID-19 patient in Gumaca town passed away.
On May 21, a COVID-19 patient in San Antonio town also died. On May 19, Tayabas City, Tagkawayan town, and the island municipality of Quezon also listed one fatality each.
Health authorities did not provide further information on the latest fatalities.
READ: 2 COVID-19 patients die in Quezon province
Earlier this month, three coronavirus infected patients also died in Tayabas City, Candelaria, and Sariaya towns.
Dr. Kristin Mae-Jean Villaseñor, Quezon provincial health office chief, explained in an earlier interview that the three patients died from other illnesses and was only incidental that they tested COVID-19 positive.
The IPHO data showed an up-and-down trend in the recent number of active COVID-19 cases in the province this month from only 1 on April 7.
On May 17, the province logged 43 new coronavirus patients and brought the number of active cases to 181 from 159 the previous day.
The number of active cases dropped to 171 on May 23 and rose again to 188 the next day.
READ: Active COVID-19 cases in Quezon province hit 100-mark anew
On May 25, the IPHO listed 48 new COVID-19 patients, the highest single-day count since January this year, which brought the number of active cases to 198, also the highest figure this year.
The next day, the province logged 31 recoveries and only 15 new cases and brought down the number of active cases to 181.
At least 31 of the infected patients, two of them “severe and critical,” have been admitted to several hospitals.
This May, Quezon has already logged 601 new cases, an alarming increase from only 76 in April, 13 in March, 15 in February, and 92 in January.
READ: Quezon province stages 4 festivals amid rise in COVID cases