CEMETERIES in Negros Occidental will be closed during the traditional celebration of "Undas" from October 30 to November 2.

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the mayors in a meeting with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson made the consensus Tuesday, September 15.

The mayors came up with the decision following the consensus made by mayors in Luzon, especially in Manila, as part of the precautionary measures against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Lacson is expected to release an executive order suspending all activities related to the observance of "Undas" or the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and it will come out any time from now, Diaz said.

The meeting was attended by the mayors of the cities of Sagay, San Carlos, Victorias, Sipalay, Silay and the town mayors of Hinigaran, Moises Padilla, Binalbagan, Valladolid, Candoni, Pulupandan, EB Magalona and Pontevedra.

The mayors have all agreed to introduce their own executive orders also suspending the observance of Undas due to concerns over the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The agreement was also reached after Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año made recommendation to all local government units in the country to close down their respective cemeteries and columbaries in order to curb the spread of the virus.

It has been a tradition for the Filipino people to visit the final resting place of their loved ones during the yearly observance of Undas.