BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Residents and foreign tourists in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, are now allowed for leisure travel to Sipalay City as long as entry requirements are complied with.
Mayor Maria Gina Montilla-Lizares placed the city under the extended Modified General Community Quarantine until May 31.
Tourists must have booking confirmations from the resort or hotel where they will be staying, and should travel to Sipalay in private vehicles because the use of public utility vehicles is still prohibited.
Walk-in day trips to resorts and beaches, excursions, and overnight camping in beaches are not allowed.
Only establishments with Department of Tourism accreditation shall be allowed to operate at 50 percent guest capacity, and mass gatherings shall be allowed up to 30 percent venue capacity, Lizares said in the executive order she issued.
Sipalaynons are still prohibited from visiting their relatives and friends outside the city, and travel outside Sipalay is limited to accessing essential goods and services, the EO added.
Border checkpoint personnel shall strictly conduct screening of incoming individuals, and those manifesting flu-like symptoms, such as fever or having a temperature 37.8 centigrade and above, will be denied entry, it added.
Curfew hours will remain from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., with the exemption of persons in emergency cases, in cargo vehicles, and Authorized Persons Outside Residence. As of May 13, Sipalay City had 158 active cases, and was among the eight local government units of Negros Occidental with cases in triple digits.*
