BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Negros Occidental is blaming the uniform travel protocols recently implemented for the spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the province.
Majority of current COVID-19-positive individuals were locally stranded individuals (LSIs), according to
PHO head Dr. Ernell Tumimbang.
LSIs are now allowed to enter the province with little to no travel restrictions.
Tumimbang, however, lamented that authorities in Metro Manila were not strict in implementing the required negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results 72 hours prior to travel.
While airport authorities in Manila do swab passengers who are unable to produce negative swab test results, this still violates Resolution No. 101 of the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) that unified COVID-19 protocol.
Also, Resolution No. 101 mandates that quarantine and testing are no longer required of returning residents, except those manifesting COVID-19 symptoms.
Truck drivers delivering essential goods from outside the province should also be required to submit negative RT-PCR test results, Tumimbang suggested.
Earlier, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson wrote a letter to the NIATF requesting for a two-week suspension of inbound flights from Metro Manila to the Bacolod-Silay Airport, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases there.
The province of Iloilo and Iloilo City also made similar requests over the weekend but was turned down.
The decision for Negros Occidental has not yet been announced, as of this writing.
Lacson issued Executive Order (EO) 21-18 last week requiring inbound travelers to present a negative RT-PCR test result 72 hours before travel.
Travelers should also register via the S-Pass system and download the StaySafe.PH app for contact tracing.
Lacson said the provincial government will also offer voluntary swabbing and quarantine at the airport and seaports.
Inbound passengers shall no longer be required to undergo facility quarantine but a seven-day home quarantine upon arrival./PN
