By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said yesterday that only 15 COVID-19 patients remain isolated in the province’s quarantine facility located at the Mambukal Resort in Barangay Minoyan in Murcia town.

According to Diaz, the number of provincial employees being infected with COVID-19 is becoming lesser and he believes it is the effect of the provincial government’s vaccination program for its employees.

“We [employees] have become more resistant against the virus,” Diaz said.

He said they are hoping they will be able to receive another substantial amount of vaccines from the national government so they could inoculate the remaining capitol employees.

“As they can see, waay kami ga-usik sang tiempo (As they can see, we don’t waste any time),” Diaz said. “We see to it that the rollout keeps going and every local government unit keeps their share of vaccinations.”

With the number of cases steadily declining in Negros Occidental, Diaz believes the province may revert back to the less stricter modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) by next month.

He, however, pointed out since the national government is issuing uniform quarantine protocols because of Bacolod City, which still remains a concern although the city is also experiencing a drop in new cases.

“It’s better to air on the side of caution, than to be careless,” the provincial administrator added.

As of yesterday, Negros Occidental’s active COVID-19 cases is at 1,626.

Bacolod City, meanwhile, has 1,206 active cases./DGB, WDJ