Negros Occidental has 124 active COVID-19 cases, 93 of whom are persons who recently arrived in the province from other parts of the country, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, March 10.
They are 90 locally stranded individuals, two Authorized Persons Outside Residence, and one Returning Overseas Filipino, he said.
The high number of incoming persons who are positive for COVID-19 is why the provincial government is continuing to insist on conducting RT-PCR tests and placing them in quarantine on arrival until their negative results are released, Diaz said.
Results are now released in a day so persons entering the province will not have a long wait in quarantine, he said.
Negros Occidental no longer requires incoming passengers to have travel authorities and medical certificates from their point of origin since they are tested for COVID-19 on arrival, Diaz said.
The provincial government aside from preventing the spread of COVID-19 provides a service to incoming passengers because they do not have to pay for their RT-PCR tests on arrival.
If the national Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution 101 is enforced, incoming passengers will have to pay for their RT-PCR tests to be taken three days before departure from their point of origin, Diaz said.
Bacolod City no longer quarantines incoming passengers but requires them to have negative RT-PCR test results taken at least three days before departure from their point of origin.*