BACOLOD City – Some 46 Negrenses stranded in Metro Manila due to travel restrictions brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) arrived in this province via a special flight from Cebu Pacific.
“I’m happy to announce that the passengers were able to ride the plane and have already arrived in Negros Occidental. They were brought to our quarantine area in E.B. Magalona town,” Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said during.
The Negrenses arrived in Negros Occidental on April 22 after the provincial government was able to secure the needed documents for their flight.
The group includes 28 females, 18 males, two toddlers, and an infant. They will be undergoing a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
Last weekend, 66 Negrenses stranded in Cebu and Panay also arrived in this province. They were the 41 construction workers from Iloilo, a family of nine from Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan and 16 from Samboan, Cebu.
On April 14, some 35 Negrense overseas Filipino workers also arrived in Escalante City from Tabuelan, Cebu.
The group included 20 residents from various places in this province and 15 from this city. They are also under mandatory quarantine at the patient care center in E.B. Magalona.
The travel ban due to the COVID-19 outbreak has left hundreds of residents in this province stranded in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
As of April 22, the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD)in Negros Occidental has recorded 1,647 Negrenses who still remain in various parts of the country.
Of the number, 661 are from here and 981 are from the different towns and cities of this province.
PDMPD chief Zeaphard Caelian said these individuals, listed in the capitol’s online registration system, have also expressed their intention to come home.
He advised the residents of Bacolod to contact the city’s hotline number for further assistance at 0942-189-7127.(With a report from PNA/PN)
