- MITCH M. LIPA
The Cadiz and Silay healing centers no longer have COVID-19 patients so disinfection is ongoing, while the quarantine facility in EB Magalona only has less than 10 persons in isolation.
The Mambukal Resort in Murcia, which was also used to quarantine Capitol workers and their families infected with COVID, has started accepting fully vaccinated guests since Dec. 1 and rebranded as Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Provincial Administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said COVID cases in Negros Occidental had gone down, due to the massive vaccination activities implemented in the towns and cities of the province.
The Valladolid, Cadiz, and Valeriano Gatuslao district hospitals are also back to their normal operations of accepting non-COVID patients, he added.
Diaz, however, said that seeing a lot of people doing Christmas shopping but no longer wearing face masks or observing physical distancing is also a cause for concern.
He said the provincial government continues to appeal to local chief executives to remind their constituents that nonobservance of health protocols might trigger another COVID surge after the holiday season.
Diaz, meanwhile, said a plane passenger, who arrived at the Bacolod-Silay Airport from Manila Dec. 8, was discovered to have presented a fake RT-PCR result.
He said the passenger is a resident of Himamaylan City, and is under the required 14-day quarantine. Five days from his arrival, he will be swabbed at his own expense, in accordance with the executive order issued by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
Since the local government is the approving unit for the S-PaSS application, it will also be responsible for ensuring that the passenger will complete the required quarantine. – MML
