NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he will be meeting with mayors to discuss the recommendations of the medical community to impose some restrictions amid fears that Covid-19 cases in the province may rise again.
The governor with Provincial Administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz and Provincial Consultant Alfredo Benitez met with the local medical community on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, to get feedback on the Covid-19 situation of the province.
Doctors from the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID)-Western Visayas urged the governor to implement their recommendations as soon as possible.
They recommended closing borders or ports of entry in Negros Occidental to non-essential travel for two weeks.
They also recommended not allowing dining in restaurants and pubs, the closing down of non-essential businesses, and a ban on social gatherings for at least two weeks.
They also said only immediate family members should be allowed to attend wakes and funerals with strict health protocols.
There should also be prompt management of homeless people and street children by housing them or providing them with face masks and face shields and for proper policing of quarantine facilities, the doctors added.
Home quarantine will be allowed as long as infrastructure requirements are complied with and strict monitoring will be enforced.
They also recommended that children below 18 years old should not be allowed out of two weeks unless in cases of emergency when health protocols are still required.
Lacson said closure of borders with Negros Oriental is still being imposed.
"As far as the airport is concerned, travelers have to present a negative RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test or be swabbed upon arrival," he said.
He added that as far as the other recommendations of the doctors are concerned, "I will discuss this with the mayors."
Negros Occidental is under modified general community quarantine until June 30.