By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is adamant on maintaining the province’s “bubble” as the country continues to grapple with the surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases brought by the Omicron variant.
Provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, however, said they will consult with the medical sector first whether it would be wise to ease some restrictions in order for travel to resume.
Diaz met with representatives from the medical sector and the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) late yesterday afternoon in order to come up with a consensus on the proposed lifting of the negative RT-PCR test result requirement.
“We want to check with the medical community if ginatindugan kag ginasuportahan man nila ang pag-set aside sang RT-PCR test,” he said.
Diaz pointed out the current measures are only up until the end of January as they do not want the hospitals in the province to become overwhelmed.
“They have to be consulted because ultimately sila man ang ma-bear sang burden curing or taking care of the sick,” Diaz explained.
He also seemed to be apologizing to Negrense travelers for the inconvenience, especially those originating from Metro Manila, stating that if Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson would have preferred, the RT-PCR test could be implemented upon their arrival in the province instead.
However, Diaz pointed out they are unable to do it due to the guidelines set by the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF).
Current guidelines set by the NIATF state that the RT-PCR test should be done within 72 hours before travel.
“Ang pilian ta lang is RT-PCR on origin or no RT-PCR. Kung mag-no RT-PCR kita it would be too reckless na,” the provincial administrator pointed out.
Earlier, Bacolod City Councilor Israel Salanga said the negative RT-PCR test result will no longer be required for travelers originating from Western Visayas and Negros Oriental.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia is set to release an executive order lifting the RT-PCR test requirement.
Weesam Express operator Frank Carbon had earlier proposed lifting the negative RT-PCR test result requirement and replacing it with a “no vaccination, no travel” policy instead.
The proposed policy is also backed by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, but Lacson bucked the proposal./DGB, WDJ