Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and the mayors of Negros Occidental are asking the Inter-Agency Task Force to place Negros Occidental under the General Community Quarantine status for two weeks due to the surging cases of coronavirus disease 2019.
The appeal was agreed on by Lacson and the local chief executives in a Zoom meeting today at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City.
Negros Occidental is under the least restrictive Modified GCQ until April 30.
As of April 8, Negros Occidental has 742 active Covid cases, from its lowest of 58 in February this year, records of the Provincial Incident Management Team showed, adding that Bacolod City logged 390 active cases.
“If we have a stricter quarantine mode, we may be able to minimize the allowable percentage of people in different areas,” Lacson said.
Lacson said that all mayors unanimously supported the call to place Negros Occidental under the GCQ.
He suggested during the Zoom meeting that the GCQ mode of quarantine will be enforced three days after the approval of the IATF, so that Negrenses will have prior notice and could prepare appropriately.
He assured that the delivery of essential goods will not be hampered during the GCQ.
While the Regional IATF cannot give its approval on the request, Lacson said “if we can convince the region, they can recommend it, or support the request to the national IATF.”
Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III suggested during the meeting that border controls within the province should be restored, and none opposed this, Lacson added.
But Lacson said people can still move around, provided that they have permission from concerned local government units, through the S-Pass travel management system.
Lacson noted a sudden spike of Covid cases after the implementation of the IATF Resolution 101, which states that swab testing and quarantine are no longer mandatory for travelers, so people started going around, especially during the Holy Week observance. –GB
