BACOLOD CITY - The city government of Bacolod has announced that it will temporarily stop accepting returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) for the holidays.
This, after the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) - Western Visayas approved its request for a four-day moratorium on the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on December 24, 25, and 31, 2020, and January 1, 2021.
With the recent development, Dr. Chris Sorongon, deputy for medical of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center (EOC), clarified that there was no lockdown here, contrary to the rumors circulating on social media.
Sorongon said that the RIATF also earlier granted the moratorium on the arrival of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) here from December 21, 2020 to January 3, 2021.
Sorongon said that the temporary suspension on the repatriation of OFWs were made to give time for the frontliners to rest, and to give time for the city government to rehabilitate quarantine facilities.
He stressed that trips within Western Visayas will continue, provided that travelers will comply with the necessary travel requirements specified by respective cities and municipalities in various provinces within the region.
As of December 20, Bacolod has 5,558 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, including 123 active cases, 173 deaths, and 5,262 recoveries.