BACOLOD CITY – Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday (March 30) ordered all travellers entering Negros Occidental to be tested for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and sent to quarantine first if they test positive.
Travellers are required to stay on quarantine until they yield negative test results.
In his order, Lacson said the order applies to all travellers entering through airports and seaports in the province. Testing is required regardless of port of origin, Lacson said.
Expenses for the tests and quarantine would be shouldered by the provincial government.
Last March 13, the governor issued an order allowing travellers who would be tested at their ports of origin to not be quarantine anymore on arrival in the province.
But Lacson said the move led to an increase in COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental from 57 to 305.
The number of those in quarantine facilities also increased from 22 to 111 individuals.
Lacson said last March 19, the provincial government learned that criminals in Manila were selling fake negative coronavirus test results to travellers bound for Negros Occidental.
At least eight returning Kabankalan residents admitted paying P900 for negative results without getting the tests.