GOVERNOR Eugenio Jose Lacson admitted Tuesday, April 21, that local government units (LGUs) cannot sustain a longer enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) for the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Lacson said resources are not infinite.
"That holds true not only in Negros but also across the country," he said.
The governor said an ECQ mandates that all people must stay home, which resulted in loss of income.
It will now be the LGU who will feed them, he added.
This cannot be sustained by all LGUs, he pointed out.
But he said if the situation calls for an ECQ, "we should stay and we cannot go against it."
Lacson thanked the National Government for having a Bayanihan Fund that extended the capability of LGUs in their feeding program for their people.
Lacson, through Executive Order (EO) 2020-B, downgraded the status of the province to general community quarantine from ECQ effective April 20.
The EO relaxed some quarantine protocols in all LGUs under the jurisdiction of the Capitol.
Lacson clarified that based on their investigation and assessment, Covid-19 positive patient 2 had close contact with his employer from outside the province like Covid-19 Patient 1.
The new positive patient is from La Castellana who returned to the province on March 13.
Provincial Consultant Alfredo Benitez, for his part, is calling on the Western Visayas Medical Center and the Department of Health in Western Visayas to hasten the release of the swab test results, as it has greater impact in the province.
Benitez also appealed to Covid-19 Patient 2 to reveal all the places he visited when he arrived in the province since March 13 for easier contact tracing and isolation.
Benitez also said that evaluators from the DOH will be arriving to the province on Thursday, April 23, to inspect the laboratory at Teresita Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City if it could pass the standards for the testing of Covid-19 swab samples.
Having a laboratory in the province would mean faster release of results, he said.
Lacson also assured the Municipal Government of La Castellana is on top of the situation after the confirmation that the second Covid-19 positive is a resident of the town.