THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental will have to come up with a consensus regarding the proposal of the business sector not to require inbound travelers from Alert Level 3 areas to submit a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result, an official said.

Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said they met Thursday, January 20, with members of the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT), including the medical society to discuss the proposal.

"We want to check with the medical society if they will back the proposal," Diaz said, adding that the consultation meeting was ordered by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.

Both the governor and the provincial administrator would like to maintain the requirement for inbound travelers to present negative results of the RT-PCR test prior to arrival in the province.

The travelers will have to bear with these measures up to end of this month only, Diaz said.

He said the spike in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases has already resulted in the closure of some offices, as well as some hospital services, as there are medical health workers who tested positive for the virus.

“So they [medical society] have to be consulted because they will bear taking care of the sick,” Diaz said.

"If there will be consensus made on the matter, some amendments on the executive order earlier signed by the governor on the travel protocols will be made," he added.