By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson denied claims of some sectors that four travelers from South Africa slipped through.

The governor’s statement came after claims on social media that the South Africans did not pass through the province’s health protocols.

“Wala sang nakalusot. It is wrong to say that they slipped through our protocol,” Lacson said

According to the governor, nobody slipped through because they arrived in the province before their country was classified as a “Red List” country.

He pointed out that they passed through Manila before proceeding to Negros as their location of origin was Makati City.

Three South African nationals, who arrived in the province last week, are being quarantined in Manapla, Calatrava and La Carlota City. They are consultants of a power company based in northern Negros Occidental.

Provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said the three foreigners and a returning overseas Filipino worker arrived in the country on November 25 before the banning was implemented.

Diaz added the four are now isolated and the company that hired the South Africans are observing strict protocols in handling them and their needs.

He added the three entered the province on November 24, 25 and 26 while the fourth who also came from South Africa is a Negrense who entered the province with a Travel Pass-through Permit issued by Bacolod City and tracked down in the town of Pontevedra.

The province had recently stepped up their monitoring of inbound travelers due to the threat of the newly-discovered Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa on November 24 and was declared a variant of concern on November 26 by the World Health Organization.

The newly-discovered variant is described to be “heavily mutated,” and studies are still being carried out on how it behaves compared to other variants./DGB, WDJ