BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the province of Negros Occidental continue to surge with the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) reporting up to 1,933 active cases as of yesterday, April 15.
Western Visayas logged 486 new confirmed cases yesterday with 290 coming from Negros Occidental.
The PIMT also noted several local government units (LGU) with triple digit active COVID-19 cases. Data as of April 14 revealed that San Carlos City had 328; Kabankalan City, 149; Cauayan, 135; Himamaylan City, 131; Cadiz City, 126; Murcia, 111; and Bago City, 110.
Meanwhile, few active cases were recorded in Manapla, Hinigaran and Sipalay City with 10 cases; Moises Padilla and Hinoba-an with three cases; and Candoni with only one recorded active case.
The town of Don Salvador Benedicto, on the other hand, remains the only LGU in Negros Occidental to be COVID-free.
Earlier, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the province would enforce more measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after its request to be placed under general community quarantine was rejected by the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Tourist destinations in areas with a high number of active COVID-19 cases will be temporarily closed, Lacson said.
Those with low cases, meanwhile, will be allowed to operate but at only 50 percent capacity.
Cockpits in the province will also remain closed until further notice, while only limited attendees will be allowed for events such as weddings, baptisms and funerals.
Individuals who exhibit COVID-19 symptoms must undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing to further curb the spread of the virus./PN
