BACOLOD City – Tired but still in high spirits, frontliners here will get a 14-day reprieve, according to Councilor Cindy Rojas.
The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force in Resolution No. 95 approved the city government’s request for moratorium on the inbound travel of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) beginning Dec. 21.
This will give healthcare workers sufficient time to rest and allow the disinfection of isolation facilities, said Rojas, chairperson of the city government’s Action Team on non-overseas Filipino worker returning residents.
During the timeout, Rojas said, they will reorganize quarantine facilities in preparation for the resumption of LSI arrivals on Jan. 3.
In a related development, Em Ang, city administrator and Emergency Operations Center Task Force executive director, mulls scrapping the mandatory reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for LSIs upon arrival.
But they should still obtain a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before their trip.
She proposed this to Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday.
“When they arrive in the city with negative COVID-19 test results, they will no longer be required to undergo another swabbing. They will be allowed to go home but must observe 14-day quarantine,” Ang explained.
For the meantime, Ang said, the arriving LSIs will still be required to undergo swab test and facility quarantine.
As of Dec. 12, the city had a total of 5,503 COVID-19 cases, 167 of which were active, 5,168 recovered and 168 dead./PN
