BACOLOD City- The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is expecting Bacolod City in Alert Level 2 on February 16 following the decreasing number of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases daily.
EOC executive director hopes that the city alert level status will be downgraded to Alert Level 2 from Alert Level 3 citing that for more than two weeks the daily COVID-19 cases is consistently decreasing.
Based on the Department of Health COVID-19 bulletin last Feb. 13, the number of positive cases in the city is only 19 individuals.
Em Legaspi Ang, former Bacolod City administrator said that they recommend removing the travel restrictions for travelers coming and going out Bacolod City.
Earlier, Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order (EO)No. 3 amending Section 1 of EO No. 1, Series of 2022 and Paragraph 1, Section 2 of EO No. 2, Series of 2022, setting aside the requirement of negative RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test rest result on intrazonal/interzonal travel to this City by any person coming from any LGU within Region 6 and Negros Oriental while Bacolod City strictly maintains its border control/ deterrent measures against COVID-19 and its variants’ transmissions.
But, the city still requires the travelers based on EO No. 3, the online BaCTrac registration; vaccination card for those who had been fully vaccinated and/or have received a booster dose.
For those who remain unvaccinated or have received only the first dose of a 2-dose vaccine series, they shall present at their ports of origin and destination a negative result under rapid antigen test (RAT) certified by the Department of Health(DOH)-an accredited laboratory that administered the RAT within 24 hours before boarding at their port of origin.
A valid personal identification card (ID) is still required.
The EO No. 3 further said, the travelers must pass a symptom screening at the port/s of entry upon arrival in this city; and they must strictly comply with existing minimum public health standards.
Meanwhile, Ang clarified that Bacolod City does not issue any certification certifying that the bearer is exempted for COVID-19 vaccination.
This was after the information has reached to EOC that there were some unvaccinated travelers of Negros Occidental who allegedly used such certificates from the ports of origin./PN
