By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has made an appeal to residents of San Carlos City to stay at home as the city’s coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, cases continue to rise.

According to Lacson, as of Wednesday, April 7, San Carlos City has a total of 179 active COVID-19 cases.

In the city’s Barangay Guadalupe Proper alone, they recorded a total of 21 new cases last Wednesday.

Lacson is now reminding the city’s residents, especially Barangay Guadalupe Proper, to follow the city’s health protocols and to as much as possible avoid going out of their homes if not necessary.

Although Negros Occidental’s COVID-19 cases are not yet alarming, the province’s COVID-19 cases now run at 32 percent, the highest recorded ever since the pandemic began last year.

When asked for comment over the statement of San Carlos City Mayor Rene Gustilo that he would ask for the city to be placed under enhanced community quarantine, Lacson said he is open to Gustilo’s idea, although he noted the decision will still depend on the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force’s review./DGB, WDJ