By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga 

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday that local government units (LGUs) with triple-digit COVID-19 cases should implement granular lockdown.

According to Lacson, the provincial government will open more rooms at the Mambukal Mountain Resort in Murcia town in order to accommodate more patients from the LGUs.

Lacson also stated that he will no longer request for a moratorium for inbound travel to Negros Occidental. Instead, LGU with no vacancies in their quarantine facilities should stop accepting travelers.

“While there are LGUs with triple-digit active cases of COVID-19, there are also towns and cities with low number of cases,” Lacson said.

He said getting the approval from the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force for another travel moratorium will be difficult since the previous request was already extended two weeks ago.

“The problem here is economics,” the governor said as the national government will no longer provide subsidy to the local government.

Based on records released by Provincial Incident Management Team head, Dr. Zeaphard Caelian, last week, the EB Magalona Healing Center is now overloaded. The facility is only supposed to hold 107 patients, however, as of May 6, 179 patients now occupy the quarantine facility.

The Mambukal Mountain Resort is also nearing capacity with 62 of the 88 available beds now occupied./DGB, WDJ