Pangasinan town records 79 new coronavirus cases

Santa Barbara town in Pangasinan became the province’s coronavirus epicenter after Mayor Joel Delos Santos said Saturday, October 3, that it listed a record 79 new infections.

That surge in COVID-19 cases was higher than the highest single-day increase in the province which was at 49 on September 15.

All the new patients were essential workers of an undisclosed firm in Barangay Tebag. They went through a mass testing organized by the company.

The workers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were all sent to the local government’s isolation facility. So far they all did not show symptoms of the coronavirus disease.

On Friday, October 2, Delos Santos issued Executive Order 75-2020, placing the following barangays under enhanced community quarantine, the strictest mode of lockdown, for the next 14 days:

• Tebag West;
• Maticmatic;
• Banaoang;
• Carusucan;
• Ventinilla.

Several of the workers from the firms were reportedly residents of said areas.

Delos Santos also established containment facilities in affected areas in the following barangays:

• Tuliao (Zone 5);
• Sapang (Zones 6 and 7);
• Botao (Household in Zone 2);
• Maningding (Households in Zones 5, 6 & 7);
• Minien West (Households in Villa Sta. Barbara Subdivision);
• Cablong (Household in Zone 3);
• Leet (Zone 4);
• Tebag East (Household);
• Sonquil (Household);
• Maronong (Household).

“Granular lockdowns and enhance community quarantines have already been set in place in the affected barangays and alongside the imposition of the quarantines, intensified contact tracing are now on-going,” Delos Santos said in a statement.

Apart from the containment measures, the mayor enforced a liquor ban in Santa Barbara town. Selling, serving, and consuming of liquor and other alcoholic beverages were temporarily prohibited.

The affected firm’s building complex was also undergoing disinfection.

As of 9 am on Saturday, October 3, Pangasinan has 1,009 coronavirus cases. It is unclear whether the new cases in Santa Barbara town have already been included in Saturday morning’s COVID-19 count. At least 345 patients are still fighting the virus.

Nationwide, total coronavirus cases is at 319,330, while active cases reached 58,606. At least 5,678 people have died from the virus while 255,046 have already recovered.

The country has already entered the Top 20 countries with the most coronavirus cases worldwide. – Rappler.com