Travel passes for Iloilo, Negros Occidental stopped

MANILA, Philippines — The national task force against the new coronavirus disease (NTF COVID-19) has stopped the issuance of travel authority to stranded persons bound for the provinces of Negros Occidental and Iloilo.

Defense Secretary and NTF COVID-19 chair Delfin Lorenzana said he had approved the suspension in the travel of locally stranded individuals (LSI) to Negros Occidental and Iloilo “for two weeks starting today.”

“We have to do this because the LSIs are the ones bringing the virus to the provinces … The local governments asked for the suspension,” he said.

The local governments had sought the suspension of LSI arrivals due to the incapability of their isolation facilities to take in more people.

—Jeanette J. Andrade