COVID-19 test_positive. STOCK PHOTO
LUCENA CITY 鈥� The province of Quezon logged 25 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, July 20, the highest single-day tally since March, the provincial health authorities reported.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) revealed that 24 towns out of 41 municipalities in the province have recorded active virus carriers, indicating the continuous spread of COVID-19 infection in Quezon.
On June 3, only Lucena City, the capital of Quezon, had active COVID-19 cases with two recorded infected residents then.
The latest tally also listed 17 recoveries and no fatality.
The IPHO reported that as of 5 pm. Wednesday, Quezon had 85 active cases from only 20 at the start of the month.
The 24 municipalities with infected cases are Sariaya (16 cases), Tayabas City (13), Lucena City (9), Candelaria (7), Lucban (7), Tiaong (5), Pagbilao (3), Atimonan (3), Mauban, (2), Polillo (2), Dolores (2), Agdangan, (2), Calauag (2) and Gumaca (2).
The towns of Real, Sampaloc, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Padre Burgos, San Andres, Guinayangan, Plaridel, and Quezon have one active COVID-19 case each.
Health authorities did not provide information on the COVID-19 variants of the active cases in the province.
The infected individuals have been admitted in several hospitals while some are under home quarantine.
This month, Quezon has logged 189 new cases and 126 recoveries and one death.
In June, the province recorded 52 COVID-19 cases; May, 14; April, 21; March, 88; and February 772 during the height of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
Dr. Tiong Eng Roland Tan, IPHO chief, said the recent spike in active COVID-19 cases in the province was caused by the drop in pandemic restrictions and the public complacency in observing health protocols.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that Lucena, a highly urbanized city in Quezon, and the island town of Alabat, will be under alert level 1, the most lenient in the five-tier alert status, until July 31.
The rest of Quezon鈥檚 39 localities will remain under alert level 2.
The DOH said that under the instructions of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and with the advice of health experts, the agency is now reviewing future directions for the COVID-19 alert level status.
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