BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) has approved the request for moratorium on the arrival of locally stranded individuals and returning overseas Filipinos to Negros Occidental on Dec. 24, 25, and 31 and January 1.
The suspension of inbound travel for LSIs and ROFs to Negros Occidental on the Christmas and New Year holidays was requested by the provincial government of Negros Occidental to RIATF, to allow them to decongest, disinfect, and prepare quarantine facilities for the next batch of returning Negrenses.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier advised Negrenses to come home early if they want to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with their families.
Lacson reminded them that all those arriving in Negros Occidental will have to undergo swab testing, with results expected to be known three days after.
If they test negative, they will be allowed to go home, but if they are positive, they will have to remain in quarantine, he added.
As of Dec. 5, Negros Occidental, excluding Bacolod City, had 953 active cases, out of 5,888 confirmed cases, with 4,804 recoveries and 131 deaths.
On the other hand, the Bago City District Hospital has been locked down after one of its personnel was exposed to a patient from Pulupandan, who tested positive for Covid.
The patient visited the hospital on Dec. 4 with a negative swab result. However, a repeat swab conducted by the Philippine Red Cross yielded a positive result.
Hospital services and operations, like the ER, OPD, and ordinary wards, are expected to resume today, the city government said in an advisory via The Citybridge FB page.
Dr. Allan Abayon, chief of Bago City Hospital, also said yesterday that their OB services would still be unavailable today as the swabbing of its staff is scheduled on Dec 9 yet. If they all test negative, the OB services will resume on Dec. 10, the advisory added.*
