Ilocos Norte logs 53 new COVID-19 cases

HEAT MAP. The province of Ilocos Norte recorded additional 55 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, marking its second highest contagion rate since the onset of the pandemic last March. The City of Laoag remains to have the highest number of cases at 127, followed by the City of Batac (17), and the town of Nueva Era (9). Bacarra (7), and Sarrat (2).  Image courtesy of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY—Fifty-three new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases were recorded in Ilocos Norte on Saturday, raising the total active cases in the province to 162, officials said.

The increase was the second highest single-day record in the province since the onset of the pandemic.

Records from the provincial government showed that this city had the most number of active cases with 127, followed by the city of Batac (17), and the towns of Nueva Era (9), Bacarra (7), and Sarrat (2).

“All COVID-19 patients, including suspect and probable cases admitted to our respective hospitals and quarantine facilities, are receiving proper treatment,” the provincial government said in a statement.

It was on Nov. 29 last year when the province logged its highest single-day infections with 92 cases.

Barangay San Lorenzo in this city remained as Ilocos Norte’s COVID-19 hotspot with 90 active cases.

The village was placed on a localized lockdown on New Year’s Eve after some of its residents who worked in the slaughterhouse operated by this city’s local government tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement on Facebook, Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc appealed for the “trademark Ilocano discipline and togetherness” amid the growing number of COVID-19 infections in the province.

“It seems that we have grown complacent and I would like to remind everyone of our safety protocols,” Manotoc said.

Ilocos Norte is currently under modified general community quarantine.

It has recorded a total of 640 COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 9. The province had three fatalities.

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