BACOLOD City – Over 100 foreigners are still stranded in various town and cities in Negros Occidental due to travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The Negros Occidental Provincial
Tourism Division confirmed this, saying they are monitoring the accommodations
of stranded tourists and working closely with local governments.
The 100 foreigners include 29 Germans; 23 Canadians; 18 Americans; 14 Swiss;
five British; four Austrians; three Australians, and three Swedes. The six
others include Czech, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Slovakian, and Japanese.
The provincial government is now trying to facilitate the repatriation of the foreign nationals, and in the meantime they have requested the local government units to accommodate the individuals, especially those who cannot yet travel due the imposed restrictions.
The office also affirmed that at least 55 Koreans who were stranded in the province have been successfully repatriated last week, after the South Korean Embassy chartered a Cebu Pacific flight to bring them home.
Also included in the repatriation were nine Singaporeans, 12 Japanese, and eight Taiwanese nationals.
The Department of Tourism, in a recent advisory, announced it was no longer staging flights for stranded tourists.
Tourists may contact their respective embassies for such arrangements, it added.
The Provincial Tourism Division also advised domestic and international tourists not yet included in their list to coordinate with the tourism offices of the city or municipality where they are staying./PN
