Intra-island borders of Negros Occidental will remain closed to Negros Oriental as part of the continued measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the province.
There are still four border checkpoints in its central and southern parts located in Isabela, La Castellana, Kabankalan City, and Hinoba-an, according to the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.
In the north, the borders in the three villages of San Carlos City have already been opened late last year.
Negros Occidental will continue to observe a status quo in closing its borders with Negros Oriental with the active COVID-19 cases on the other side of the island now higher than that of the province.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that in a virtual meeting on Wednesday, all the mayors agreed to keep the borders closed to ensure safety.
“They want to continue with the status quo…The mayors would like to keep the border control as it is,” he added.
Lacson said that the Office of the Governor will inform the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental and its Inter-Agency Task Force about the decision.
It would be best for both provinces to continue to observe border control since even in Negros Occidental, the active cases are also on the rise, Lacson said.
The four checkpoints are situated on the borders of Isabela-Guihulngan City, La Castellana-Canlaon City, Kabankalan City-Mabinay and Hinoba-an-Bayawan City.
Although the San Carlos-Vallehermoso border control has already been eased on Oct. 31 last year, travelers from Negros Oriental still need to have valid reasons and have to secure travel authority before crossing to Negros Occidental.
Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, said figures show that the active cases in Dumaguete City are still increasing while component cities in the province continue to have single-digit cases daily for a week. – MML
