COVID-19 cases in Batangas now at 13 – vice-governor

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 ) cases of in the province of Batangas was now at 13, Vice -Governor Mark Leviste said Friday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo DZBB, Leviste said officially they had 11 confirmed cases, but the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases called to inform the provincial government of the additional two cases.

The Inter-Agency Task Force did not reveal any further information on the two new patients.

Citing Department of Health data, Leviste said Batangas had 214 Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19, 7,193 Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs), and one deceased patient.

Those areas with COVID-19 positive patients were Batangas City, Lipa City, Tanauan City, Santo Tomas, Lemery, Nasugbu, and Lian, according to Leviste.

The Batangas provincial government had allotted more than P21 million to aid the 1,078 barangays that were affected by the lockdown, the vice governor added.

Leviste said among those most affected by the health emergency were the daily wage earners who lost their jobs, and barangays where frontliners were in need of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and alcohol.

Aside from the aid, the provincial government had also passed a supplemental budget for the procurement of medical and sanitary equipment for their proposed quarantine centers.

Leviste said the quarantine centers would provide additional beds in case hospitals could no longer accommodate COVID-19 patients. The Batangas Provincial Sports Complex was among the potential locations for these centers.

The province also had teams that traveled around the province every day, checking on PUMs and PUIs, and making sure that local governments were implementing strict security and health measures.

Leviste said the province was able to maintain and improve their "best practices" in calamity response after Taal Volcano's eruption last January, including a centralized drop-off point for all relief goods and other donations. — Jamil Santos/DVM, GMA News