NEGROS Occidental is still closed.
Lawyer Rayfrando Diaz, provincial administrator, said Negros Occidental is still closed to domestic and foreign tourists despite the Department of Tourism's push for the recovery of the tourism industry through domestic tourism.
"We cannot preempt the vaccines. Non-essential travel is still not allowed. The Bacolod-Silay Airport is still closed for tourists," Diaz said.
When asked about plans by the Bacolod City government to open the city to non-essential travel, Diaz said, "let them pass through the Bredco Port in Bacolod City because it is under their jurisdiction."
"We have already talked with the airline companies," he added.
Diaz said Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and the mayors have agreed that the province is still restricted.
"Even internal travel within the province is not encouraged," he said.
"Our mayors are still worried that cases will spike especially with the new coronavirus variant. Only locally stranded individuals (LSIs) are allowed to enter but not tourists," he added.
"It's been a year that we have contained the spread of Covid-19 and just because there is already a vaccine, we will [not] let our guards down," Diaz said. "We cannot be careless."