NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, that residents of Mabinay, Negros Oriental will be allowed to enter and stay in Kabankalan City for 12 hours only in a single day.
Lacson, who met Wednesday with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang and Zephard Caelian, head of the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, also said Mabinay residents can only enter Kabankalan City through a private vehicle.
“Mabinay will quarantine their residents if they go beyond 24 hours from the time they left Mabinay,” he said.
Mabinay opened its border to Kabankalan City, while San Carlos City also eased its border control with residents of Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental several months ago.
“I don’t think anybody would want to go all the way to Bacolod City, only to be quarantined when they go back to Mabinay, at that expense,” Lacson said.
"The reason really (for Mabinay residents) is for commerce. Sometimes even for medical purposes that they prefer to go to Kabankalan City rather than other areas of Negros Oriental," he also said.
Mabinay and Vallehermoso have zero active Covid-19 cases, according to a report from the provincial government of Negros Oriental.
Kabankalan City has only two active Covid-19 cases, with four in San Carlos City, based on the report of the Provincial Incident Management Team, as of February 16.
All over Negros Occidental, active cases also went down further to 64, compared to more than 100 three weeks ago. Negros Oriental has 168 active cases.
Lacson said he will talk with Mayor Renato Gustilo if a similar arrangement between Mabinay and Kabankalan City may also be applied in San Carlos City and Vallehermoso.