A TOTAL of 35,095 Negrenses have returned to the province from March 30 to December 8, 2020, as part of the exodus of Filipinos due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Zephard Gerhart Caelian, commander of the Provincial Incidents Management Team (PIMT), on Wednesday December 9, 2020, said based on their data, of the total number of returning residents, a total of 25,902 are locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who came from Manila and Cebu.
A total of 3,136 migrant sugarcane workers or a commonly called "sacadas" also entered the province from the provinces of Antique, Aklan and the neighboring Negros Oriental to work during the sugar milling season, he said.
Caelian also said from December 1 to 8, a total of 2,443 LSIs retuned to Negros Occidental along with 628 returning overseas Filipinos.
He also said six local government units (LGUs) in the province have been approved by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) to suspend the return of LSIs.
They are Sagay City from November 26 to December 10, La Carlota City from December 22 to January 2, Ilog from December 20 to January 3 and Pontevedra from December 22 to January 5.
Caelian added that the RIATF also approved the requests for moratorium on the return of LSIs in the municipalities of Cauayan and Calatrava. Arrival of LSIs in the town of Calatrava is suspended from December 21 to January 3, 2021, while the town of Cauayan is from December 20 to January 3, 2021.
Caelian said they expect the increase of returning residents as it is the holiday season.
He also reminded returning Negrenses to comply with the following requirements: medical certificate, authority to travel and a swab test from the LGUs where they are going home.
All LSIs will be quarantined until they get a negative result from their swab tests, Caelian said.