With both Negros Occidental and Oriental to be placed on Alert Level 3 starting Jan. 16 until the end of this month, the provincial government of Negros Oriental is working with top officials of Occidental to have uniform travel protocols so as not to affect the movement of Negrenses.
Dr. Liland Estacion, provincial health officer of Negros Oriental, in a media conference this afternoon, said the province will coordinate with Negros Occidental on the possibility of uniform travel guidelines.
This is one way to ensure that the movement of people from the two provinces will not be affected and transactions will continue, since both are under the same community restrictions.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said he is waiting for the proposal from Negros Oriental, adding that he will try to look into the possibility of uniform travel restrictions, depending on what they can agree on, before a corresponding executive order is issued.
Negros Oriental recorded 196 active COVID cases, 73 of those from Dumaguete City.
On the hospitalization rate, Negros Oriental logged a 25 percent admission rate for both government and private hospitals.
Meanwhile, Estacion said that 57.1 percent of the targeted vaccine beneficiaries already received the first dose, while 40.2 percent were fully vaccinated, and around 15 percent waiting for their second dose.
Estacion also denied the hoarding of vaccines at the PHO, adding that there are local government units that have not claimed their allocated vaccines since they have yet to fully administer the earlier batch of anti-COVID shots allotted to them. | MML
