Carla P. Gomez

Richard Malihan photos“It is one jab to heal humanity, that’s what it means to me,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said after he received his first Sinovac jab.Lacson, five provincial board members, five mayors and one department head were vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City Friday, April 30.The vaccination of Hinoba-an Mayor Ernesto Estrao was deferred because his blood pressure was very high, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, Negros Occidental provincial health officer, said.Tumimbang said the high blood pressure of Estrao had to be addressed before he could be released from the hospital.He said other Negros Occidental mayors are opting to be vaccinated in their localities, some have already been vaccinated, while...

The COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental are “very slowly going down, there has been no more spike,” Dr. Mary Ann Maestral, Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital officer-in-charge, said Friday, April 30.The TLJPH molecular laboratory in Silay City conducts the bulk of the COVID-19 tests for the towns and cities of Negros Occidental.In Negros Occidental, we did not let up on our COVID-19 tests and contact tracing, she said.In the second week of April, Negros Occidental had a spike in COVID-19 cases but now it is very slowly going down, she said.They are appealing to everybody to wear face masks and shields, and practice social distancing and hand washing, she said.“Please refrain from group activities,” she said.Negros Occidental had 308 new COVID-19 cases on Thur...

Two more Negros Occidental provincial government employees have tested positive for COVID-19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrado Diaz said Friday, April 30.An administrative aide at the Provincial Legal Office at the Capitol tested positive but there was no need to close the PLO since there was no work at the Capitol on Friday anyway, he said.The Negros Occidental provincial government is operating on a four-day work week as a deterrent against the spread of COVID-19.The rest of the PLO staff will be swabbed on Sunday for COVID-19 RT-PCR tests, Diaz said.The Provincial Administrator’s Office was closed on Thursday for disinfection after one of its staff tested positive for COVID-19.A second employee of the Provincial Administrator’s Office tested positive for COVID-19 Fr...

PIA Negros Occidental photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City received 23,480 more Sinovac vaccines Friday, April 30.The Sinovac vaccines from the Department of Health arrived via a Philippine Airlines cargo flight that landed at the Bacolod-Silay Airport.Negros Occidental received 16,000 vials and Bacolod City - 7,480 vials.Provincial Health Officer Ernell Tumimbang said the next to be vaccinated after the health care workers are the senior citizens under A2 to be followed by those with co-morbidities under A3.“We will follow the DOH priorities so we will be moving on to A2 and then A3,” he said.The 16,000 vaccines will be divided among the local government units of Negros Occidental, he said.The Food and Drug Administration has already approved the use of Sino...

The Bacolod Regional Trial Courts and the Municipal Trial Courts in Cities will be operating with skeleton workforces of 30 percent from May 3 to 14, Bacolod RTC Executive Judge Raymond Joseph Javier said Friday, April 30.This is being done to combat the spread of COVID -19 at the Bacolod Hall of Justice, he said.It is also in compliance with a circular issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo Friday, stating that all courts and judicial offices in areas under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) will be physically open with a workforce of at least 25 percent from May 3 to 14.Gesmundo, in Administrative Circular 29-2021, said he was leaving the exact workforce figure to the executive justices and executive judges to determine.Bacolod City and Negros ...

Talisay PIO file photoThe 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in Negros Occidental will remain in full force and effect in May to curb the current surge of COVID-19 cases in the province.That was stressed by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson in Executive Order 21-24, Series of 2021 which he issued Thursday, April 29, extending the duration of the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) over Negros Occidental until May 31.President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, April 28, approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to remain under MGCQ in May, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.Apparently, the number of COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are not enough fo...

Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued an executive order Thursday, April 29, extending the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in Bacolod City to May 31, which includes curfew from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. and a partial liquor ban.Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 21, Series of 2021, also strongly urges the public to limit mass gatherings such as movie screenings, concerts and other entertainment activities, religious services, and work conferences to 30 percent of the seating or venue capacity in view of the rising number COVID-19 cases in the city.The mayor said while Bacolod City has maintained its MGCQ category, its constituents must not be complacent, especially with the spike of COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks.The Department of Health in Western Visayas has classified Baco...

COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental hit a new high Thursday, April 29, at 303 in a single day, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.La Carlota City had the highest number of new cases at 60, Diaz also said.The Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital molecular laboratory test results showed 303 COVID-19 positive cases in Negros Occidental and five from Bacolod City for a total of 308 on Thursday.There are 3,752 from Negros Occidental who tested positive for COVID-19 in April, the laboratory also reported.The areas with triple-digit COVID-19 cases in April are San Carlos City with 695, La Carlota City – 307, Himamaylan City – 288, Kabankalan City – 222, Bago City – 211, Cadiz City – 171, Cauayan – 158, Murcia -158 Sipalay City – 147, Binalbagan – 143, Pontevedra – 1...

Image from PixabayThere has been an increase in pregnant women hit by COVID-19 in Bacolod City.“We have 15 pregnant women who are in our isolation facility now,” City Administrator Em Ang said Thursday, April 29.Pregnant women are tested for COVID-19 because all patients admitted at the City Health Office (CHO) Lying-in Clinic must be negative prior to admission, Ang, who is also the executive director of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said.“Close and skin-to-skin contact with patients during childbirth is inevitable for healthcare workers at the Lying-in Clinic. Thus, it is necessary to know whether they test positive or negative (for COVID-19), so that clinic staff can take precautionary measures,” Ang said.Pre-admission testing will not only protect healthcar...

Capitol photoMore Negros Occidental mayors are joining Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson who will be vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City on Friday, April 29.Among the mayors who will receive Sinovac jabs with the governor are Pedro Zayco of Kabankalan City, John Rey Tabujara of Cauayan, Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan of La Castellana, Manuel Escalante of Manapla, Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran and Ernesto Estrao of Hinob-an, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.Also expected to be vaccinated Friday are board members Araceli Somosa, Sixto Guanzon Jr., Victor Javellana and Samson Mirhan, he said.They are being vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines because they are not sure if the AstraZeneca second dose will come on time, Lacson said....