LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) here posted record-high in the number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases with 82 on Thursday, December 3.
According to the Benguet PHO, 69 of the new cases were recorded in the mining town of Mankayan, which now has a total of 159 active cases.
Of the new cases, 12 were minors.
There were also 32 recoveries, and one death in the province on Thursday.
The new infections came from Barangay Paco (40), Barangay Sapid (26), and one each from Barangays Cabiten, Poblacion, and Tabio. These barangays are all located inside the mining camp of Lepanto.
The PHO said the sharp increase in the number of cases could be attributed to the more expansive contact tracing and testing being conducted by the medical team, which has focused its efforts on the mining camp.
This capital town also recorded its eighth COVID-19-related death on Thursday, bringing the total of fatalities in the province to 19.
The patient was a 92-year-old female from Barangay Ambiong, who was admitted on Dec 1 at the Pines City Doctors Hospital. Based on a report, the patient had severe pneumonia and multiple organ failure. She also had cardiac arrest.
La Trinidad also posted seven new cases, while Itogon town had three new infections. Tuba had two, while Kapangan had one.
As of 12 p.m., December 3, the province already has a total of 2,162 confirmed cases, 328 of which are still active, and 1,815 recoveries.