BACOLOD CITY – The provincial government of Negros Occidental is facing difficulties in controlling the spread of COVID-19 after its quarantine facilities are now nearly in full capacity.
Of the 605 quarantine facilities in the province, 541 were fully occupied.
Dr. Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT), said that it is one of the reasons why they were finding it hard to control the spread of the virus.
In fact, he said the provincial government tried to ask for guidance from the Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) and has also appealed for the province to be placed under a strict quarantine classification but the request was not approved.
Caelian said that he will ask Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson to request for a travel moratorium to contain the increasing local transmission cases of COVID-19 in the province and to also free up quarantine facilities for incoming returning Negrenses.
As of May 7, 2021, there were 2,312 active COVID cases in the province.
Only the towns of Candoni and Don Salvador Benedicto managed to keep their cases in single-digit, with five and eight cases, respectively.