BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
More than 80 of the new 116 Covid 19 active cases in Negros Occidental, except Bacolod City, are Locally Stranded Individuals, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
This shows that the infection in domestic cases are getting less. “What we should closely watch are those returning and entering the province,” Diaz said.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is looking into the possibility of requiring LSIs to present negative results of their RT-PCR tests, at least 72 hours prior to their arrival, if the National Inter Agency Task Force will insist on implementing its approved resolution, which provides uniformed travel protocols among local government units.
The National Inter Agency Task Force resolution 101 insists that there will be no more quarantine and RT-PCR testing, upon the return of LSIs to their respective LGUs.
Diaz said they submitted an executive order issued by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson maintaining health protocols for arriving LSIs.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental requires LSIs to undergo swab testing and quarantine, upon their arrival, either at the Bacolod-Silay airport, or any port in the province.
Diaz said that the provincial government is complying with the NIATF resolution, by not requiring LSIs to secure travel authority and medical certificates from their point of origin.
But what is important is for them to undergo a swab test upon arrival in the province, and to be quarantined just for a day, and released if the results are negative.
This has been very effective in preventing the spread of the virus, and some local government units even had zero active cases, while others had single digits, he added.
If they will require a negative RT-PCR result from LSIs, Diaz said it will be an added burden for them, as they will have to pay for it and the province, which is paying for it, if they tested here, will save a lot of money.
He said he is hoping that the NIATF will appreciate what the provincial government is doing. But just the same, Diaz said that they will comply with whatever are the orders of the national government.*
