BACOLOD CITY – Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has ordered the suspension of domestic flights and sea travel going to the province of Negros Occidental from September 1 to 7.
This was stated in Lacson’s Executive Order No. 20-43 issued on August 31, which also extended the modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in the entire province until September 15.
Lacson said in the order that all quarantine facilities of the province shall be utilized to accommodate the influx of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 positive cases as a result of the Timeout Weekend mass testing conducted in the cities of Talisay, Silay, and Bago, and Murcia town from August 30 to 31.
As such, there will be no adequate quarantine facilities ready to hold returning Negrense overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) during this period, the governor said.
A total of 1,910 out of the 5,000 target participants from the four areas participated in the mass testing from August 30 to 31. Of the total number, 431 persons were from Silay, 725 from Talisay, 318 from Bago, and 436 from Murcia.
Lacson said the mass testing was primarily aimed at ferreting locally-infected persons in the province, considering that domestic cases come second to LSIs as carriers of the virus here. “We’re looking for them, we are not waiting for them,” he added.
He said the province has already reached the 1,000 mark in COVID cases after five months, with about 50 percent recoveries.
Lacson earlier said that it’s okay if they cannot reach the targeted number. “We don’t have to push for that number,” he said.