GOVERNOR Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday that after May 31, Negros Occidental could be classified under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).
Lacson said it’s the National Inter-Agency Task Force that’s now deciding.
Everyone in the province has been expecting that after the GCQ, the province will be put under “new normal” status.
Meanwhile, Lacson clarified that since the province now is under GCQ, a certain lockdown could no longer be declared by any local government unit in case there would be suspected Covid patient in a certain area.
“Some limitations could be imposed but not a lockdown because we are already under GCQ,” Lacson said.
Lacson, in another development, said the 246 Negrense overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will no longer undergo 14-day quarantine, following their arrival in the province on Monday, May 25.
The governor said the OFWs have undergone reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests upon their arrival.
He said those who will test negative for the virus will be allowed to return home, while those who test positive will immediately be placed in isolation.
As of Tuesday, Lacson said the provincial government currently has 283 available rooms, although he has requested local government units in Negros Occidental to prepare their respective quarantine facilities.
The governor has also strongly voiced his opposition to subjecting the repatriated OFWs to home quarantine, due to risk of local transmission if they test positive for the coronavirus disease, or Covid-19.
“It is better that we hold them first before sending them home,” Lacson said.