BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental is studying the possibility of reopening its land borders with Negros Oriental. Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is holding a virtual meeting today with mayors of local government units in the province to discuss the matter.
In March last year, officials of the two provinces sealed their respective borders in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19).
According to Lacson, he will consult Dr. Ernell Tumimbang of the Provincial Health Office as well as members of the Provincial Incident Management Team about the border reopening that would allow the return of land trips between the two provinces, both of which are under modified general community quarantine for the entire January.
But he has yet to bring up the possible reopening to Negros Oriental’s Gov. Roel Degamo.
Lacson’s move came after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Central Visayas announced it is reopening bus routes from Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental to Cebu City and vice versa.
Eduardo Montealto Jr., LTFRB-Central Visayas director, said some residents of Dumaguete City were hesitant to travel to Cebu City after having learned about the mandatory quarantine.
The Negros Oriental Inter-Agency Task Force has yet to make a decision regarding the LTFRB-7 order as of this writing.
As of Jan. 11, Negros Oriental had a total of 1,103 COVID-19 cases, 513 of which were active, 563 recovered and 24 dead.
Negros Occidental, on the other hand, had a total of 6,467 confirmed cases – 6,145 of which recovered, leaving 155 active cases being monitored. The province’s death toll stood at 164.
In early October last year, the Negros Oriental provincial government set a trans-boundary scheme for Negros Occidental health workers assigned in various hospitals in the province.
Two community primary hospitals in the boundaries of both provinces are “shared” in terms of operations, expenses, and manpower, among other agreements.
These are the Inapoy Primary Community Hospital in Barangay Inapoy, Mabinay, Negros Oriental, which shares a common border with Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, and the Luz-Sikatuna Community Primary Hospital along the border of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental and Isabela, Negros Occidental./PN
