- CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have relaxed the guidelines, especially for fully vaccinated persons, with the de-escalation of the alert category until the end of this month.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order No. 8, declaring Alert Level 2 in Bacolod City from Feb. 16 to 28, in compliance with the directive of the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, and adopting updated travel protocols for inbound travelers coming from all areas of the Philippines, regardless of the alert level status.
Those fully vaccinated and who received the booster shot need only to present a BaCTrac ID and vaccination card before boarding a ship bound for the city or a plane bound for the Bacolod-Silay Airport.
“For those who remain unvaccinated or have received only the first dose of a 2-dose vaccine series, they shall present a negative result under Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) certified by a DOH-accredited laboratory that administered the RAT within 48 hours before boarding at their port of departure immediately before arriving in any port of entry in Bacolod City,” Leonardia said.
They must also pass a symptom screening at the port/s of entry and strictly comply with existing minimum public health standards.
For fully vaccinated travelers to Negros Occidental, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said they will be required to present their vaccination card or an official Department of Health vaccination certificate with QR code, and an electronic or printed copy of the approved Travel Pass-Through Permit issued by the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) travel management system from the local government unit of destination and/or the provincial government.
“The Province of Negros Occidental shall be classified as unrestricted in the S-PaSS travel management system,” Lacson said in EO 22-04, effective Feb. 16.
He added that partially vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals shall be required to present an approved S-PaSS and non-reactive RAT result valid for 46 hours from date of swab sample extraction and must be administered and issued by a DOH-accredited clinic or laboratory.
Air travel to Negros Occidental will be restricted to two flights per airline company per day for Manila-Bacolod-Manila fights, one additional inbound Manila to Bacolod cargo-only flight and one additional outbound Bacolod to Manila passenger flight per day, Lacson said.
There will be one fight per airline company per week for the Cebu-Bacolod-Cebu flights, he said, adding that sea vessels shall be allowed to admit passengers up to 50 percent of its capacity limit.
Under the national IATF guidelines, industries allowed to operate under Alert Level 2 at a maximum of 50 percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and at 70 percent outdoor capacity, are venues for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions; permitted venues for social events, such as parties, wedding receptions, engagement parties, wedding anniversaries, debut and birthday parties, family reunions, and bridal or baby showers; libraries, archives, museums, galleries, exhibits, parks, plazas, public gardens, scenic viewpoints or overlooks, and the like; amusement parks or theme parks; recreational venues such as internet cafes, billiard halls, amusement arcades, bowling alleys, skating rinks, archery halls, swimming pools, and similar venues; and cinemas and movie houses.
Limited face-to-face or in-person classes for basic education can also resume, subject to prior approval from the DepEd and Office of the President; limited face-to-face or in-person classes for higher education and for technical-vocational education and training; in-person religious gatherings and those for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19; licensure or entrance/qualifying examinations;
Dine-in services in restaurants and eateries, subject to DTI sector-specific protocols; personal care establishments, such as barbershops, hair spas and salons, fitness studios, gyms, and venues for individual non-contact exercise and sports.
Individual outdoor exercises shall also be allowed for all ages, regardless of comorbidities or vaccination status, Leonardia said, adding that daily curfew hours in Bacolod will remain from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., and the selling and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages in authorized public places shall be from 12 noon to 10 p.m. only. — CGC
