Visayas tightens restrictions amid COVID-19 surge
STANDING TALL The bell tower of Dumaguete stands tall in the heart of the city in this photo taken in May, as new coronavirus cases continue to rise in this provincial capital of Negros Oriental
BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines — Local governments in the Visayas have tightened restrictions in light of the rising COVID-19 cases in their respective localities.
Bacolod City, which has a noticeable increase in daily new cases, may be placed under the more stringent modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) by June 16, according to City Administrator Em Ang.
Ang, executive director of the Bacolod Emergency Operations Center, said she was unofficially told by a source in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) that the city might revert to MECQ due to its rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Disregard for autonomy
The Department of Health (DOH) recently tagged Bacolod as a high-risk area for COVID-19. As of June 12, Bacolod has 1,952 active cases.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said the surge in COVID-19 cases in the province began when the IATF disallowed local governments from swab testing incoming passengers and placing them in quarantine upon arrival until their negative swab test results were out.
“The mayors are blaming them for that. They (local chief executives) want to assert local autonomy. They (IATF) should allow local leaders to solve local issues. We have the capacity. Why will they not allow us?” he said.
After several months of eased restrictions for domestic travel, Cebu province is now requiring COVID-19 negative tests for those coming from Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Bohol provinces.
Test first
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has issued Executive Order No. 22 that requires all persons entering the province to present either a negative swab test result 72 hours before arrival or a negative rapid antigen test taken at least 48 hours before departure from their place of origin.
Garcia’s order took effect on Monday until July 24, “unless further extended.”
The governor took into consideration the latest data from the DOH that Cebu’s neighboring provinces recorded an increasing number of active COVID-19 cases in the country.
Skeleton workforce
As of June 13, the DOH said Negros Oriental had 3,134 active COVID-19 cases, Bohol had 1,339, Cebu province had 533 and Cebu City had 577 cases.
In Eastern Samar, Gov. Ben Evardone ordered the provincial government to operate with a skeleton workforce from June 13 to June 26 amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in the capital Borongan City. In Negros Oriental province, Gov. Roel Degamo mulled granular lockdowns as the “best solution” for now to address the spike in cases while preserving the local economy.
