Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said the five-day work week would start on March 1 but did not amend his four-day work week order issued last year at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hopefully, Negros Occidental will be downgraded to Alert Level 1 on March 16 so the five-day work week can resume, Diaz said.
Negros Occidental had 12 new COVID-19 cases for a total of 123 active cases on Thursday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.
The numbers are dropping in fact some local government units in the province no longer have any active COVID-19 cases, Diaz said.
Diaz said he hopes the COVID-19 pandemic is nearing its end so that everyone can return to their normal lives.
He said the Cadiz District Hospital only has 13 COVID-19 patients now. If the number of COVID-19 patients stays low, the hospital’s annex may be opened up to non-COVID patients, he added.
The health personnel assigned to quarantine facilities are now assisting local government units in stepping up their COVID-19 vaccination drive in the province, Diaz said.
Negros Occidental has so far fully vaccinated 1,200,628 residents or 57. 22 percent of its target population, the Department of Health reported.
About 66,513 of 3.17 percent of Negros Occidental’s target population have received booster shots, it added.*