BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson is again appealing to the public to wear facemasks and for the unvaccinated to get immunized against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) recently announced the province remains under COVID-19 Alert Level 2 from April 15 to 30, 2023.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday also said Negros Occidental and 25 more areas under Alert Level 2 have low vaccination rates.
While these areas have reached low risk classification for case and utilization rates, these have vaccination rates lower than 70 percent of the target total population and/or 70 percent of the total senior citizens.
DOH further encouraged the unvaccinated, unboosted or under-boosted to have COVID jabs “as soon as possible while it is still free of charge, especially for senior citizens.”
Latest data from the Provincial Incident Management Team showed Negros Occidental with 74 active COVID-19 cases, of which 11 were new cases recorded on Monday, April 24.
According to Lacson, he is studying if there is a need to issue an executive order if cases continue to rise, which in turn could see a return of some restrictions.
Based on IATF’s guidelines under an Alert Level 2, indoor capacity for establishments will be limited to only 50 percent, while all other activities held outdoors for fully vaccinated individuals is set at 70 percent.
Lacson, however, said he is reluctant to enforce strict restrictions as this would have a negative impact on the province’s economy similar to what happened during the early days of the pandemic./PN
