BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental will recommend additional towns and cities to be placed under coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic Alert Level 1.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said several more local government units (LGUs) fared well in their COVID-19 vaccination drive.
At present, while Negros Occidental is under Alert Level 2, the following have been classified as under Alert Level 1: the towns of EB Magalona (Saravia), Pulupandan and San Enrique and the component cities of La Carlota and Sagay.
Bacolod City is also under Alert Level 1.
According to Diaz, the following areas will be recommended for downgrading to Alert Level 1, too:
* Cadiz City (77.85 percent vaccination rate)
* Talisay City and Murcia (73 percent vaccination rate each)
* Pontevedra, Victorias City and Silay City (72 percent vaccination rate each)
* Candoni (70 percent vaccination rate)
The national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) recently approved the proposal of the Department of Health in Western Visayas and the provincial government to adopt a per LGU alert level classification.
Diaz welcomed the approval.
“This will pave the way for the other LGUs to be reclassified and deescalated to Alert Level 1 for the next period after having met the parameters set by DOH,” he pointed out.
Diaz said LGUs have done their share in the national government’s mass vaccination program against COVID-19.
“There is no ground or reason that they be denied (of Alert Level 1 status),” he said.
Their status de-escalation would inspire other LGUs to work hard to attain the targets set by DOH, Diaz said.
Alert Level 1 or the “new normal” status is the lowest category in the country’s COVID-19 alert level system. The movement of persons, regardless of age and comorbidities, is allowed, but with restrictions on crowded and closed spaces and close contact settings.
Also, private establishments and government agencies are allowed to operate at full onsite capacity, subject to minimum public health standards./PN