BY GABRIEL DOMINIQUE BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Some 10,000 individuals in five local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental, including this capital city, will be tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The planned mass testing is part of the “Time-Out Weekend” – a four-day strategic plan announced by provincial and city officials led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
“We are both experiencing the same problem. We hope that together, we can come up with more solutions and strategies,” Lacson said.
In response, Leonardia said: “As the governor has said, this is us being one family here. We are glad to be one with the provincial government in this.”
From Aug. 28 to 31, a lockdown would be enforced to four cities and one municipality, according to Provincial Economic Affairs consultant Alfredo Benitez.
“There will be no movement at all while we test everybody,” Benitez said.
To be implemented through a special task force, the “Time-Out Weekend” targets symptomatic patients and their close contacts in the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay, and Bago, and the municipality of Murcia.
“Once we do an efficient contact tracing, we will test them,” he said
Benitez explained that consumables such as testing kits will be provided by the national government at an estimated cost of P35 million.
“At the rate it is going, we don’t want to be the next Cebu. We don’t want that to happen. We are appealing to LGUs including Bacolod,” he reiterated.
Identified individuals will be swabbed for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test for free.
These will include 5,000 persons from Bacolod, who will undergo swabbing on Aug. 28 and 29.
The other 5,000 will all come from cities of Talisay, Silay and Bago, and Murcia town, who will be swabbed on Aug. 30 and 31.
The swab samples will be processed in four molecular bio-laboratories, including four in Bacolod and one in Negros Occidental, and will be released in 24 hours.
In Bacolod, the COVID-19 laboratories are hosted by the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, The Doctors’ Hospital, Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital, and the Philippine Red Cross Bacolod City-Negros Occidental Chapter. (With a report from PNA/PN)
