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Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson signed Executive Order 21-05 Series of 2021 this afternoon, January 28, extending the duration of the Modified General Community Quarantine over Negros Occidental until February 28.Negros Occidental has been under MGCQ since June last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The province had 117 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.Kabankalan City, Sipalay City, Valladolid and San Enrique has no active cases, the report also said.Silay City had the most number of active cases at 17, followed by San Carlos City with 11, Escalante City -10, Sagay City – 9, Cadiz City – 8, EB Magalona and Talisay City – 6, Victorias City - 4, Bago City, Hinigaran, Hinoba-an, Ilog, La Carlota City, La Castellana, Manapl...

Photo courtesy of Em AngJanssen Pharmaceutica, the drug subsidiary of American conglomerate Johnson & Johnson, is recruiting 500 volunteers, who are 40 years old and above, in Bacolod City for the pivotal Phase 3 trials of its COVID-19 vaccine that will start next month, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center Executive Director Em Ang said today, January 27.Janssen Pharmaceutica, that developed vaccine candidate JNJ-78436735, will also conduct clinical trials in Iloilo City, Makati City, and San Pablo and Cabuyao in Laguna.“The randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in at least 500 adults, 40 years old and older, including significant representation from those who have comorbidities,” she said.Dr. Adoni...

Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla expressed her frustration today, January 28, as members of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) have yet to act on the proposed P216 million annual budget of their town for 2021.The mayor said the proposed budget was submitted to the SB in October last year, but members of the council only started holding their marathon hearings just this January.She said that the municipal government is now operating on a reenacted budget, but the 2021 proposed allocation is coronavirus responsive.The municipal government cannot implement new projects and programs under the reenacted budget considering that the proposals have to be included in the 2020 Annual Investment Plan, she said.With the non-action of the SB members on the annual budget, the council cannot tac...

PDEA Assistant Regional Director Donelyn Hemedez, DILG Negros Occidental OIC Roselyn Quintana, Board Member Juvy Pepello and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson (l-r) who were at Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Summit have all tested negative for COVID-19.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and four others have tested negative for COVID-19 after being exposed to a Department of the Interior and Local Government official from Iloilo who was positive for the virus at the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Summit in Bacolod City Friday, January 22.The governor, who had gone on self-isolation, said he is relieved that he tested negative and will return to work tomorrow, January 28.Negros Occidental Board Member Juvy Pepello, DILG Negros Occidental OIC Roselyn Quintana, and as...

Photo from Em AngBacolod residents are being urged to register now for COVID-19 vaccination, City Administrator Em Ang said today, January 28.Registration can be done in one's barangay or through an online facility being set up by the city government, she said.We are starting to register residents for the mass vaccination that will begin as soon as the vaccines arrive, she said, reiterating that the city hopes to inoculate 80 percent of its population to reach the herd immunity level.The vaccines need to be used as soon as they arrive because they do not have a very long shelf life, she said.The vaccines to be given by the national government to the local governments are expected to arrive earlier, she said.The 650,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines purchased by the...

A new molecular laboratory that can conduct 4,000 COVID-19 tests a day is expected to begin operations next month at the Valladolid District Hospital in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said today, January 27.The Safeguard Diagnostics laboratory that can conduct RT-PCR tests from nasal and saliva samples will be able to serve the needs of southern Negros, Negros Oriental and even parts of Panay, he said.A COVID-19 nasal RT-PCR test at the Valladolid facility will cost P2,500, which is cheaper than at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital molecular laboratory in Silay City that charges P3,500, Diaz added.The saliva test at the Valladolid laboratory will also be cheaper than its nasal test, he also said.The Valladolid laborat...

DILG-6 photoSeventy-one more persons, including Negros Occidental provincial police director Col. Romel Palgue, who were at a Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Summit in Bacolod City on January 22, have tested negative for COVID-19.They were tested for the virus after a Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official from Iloilo at the summit tested positive for COVID-19.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Board Member Juvy Pepello, DILG OIC provincial head Roselyn Quintana and assistant regional director Maria Calpiza Sardua, and Assistant Regional Director Donelyn Hemedez of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, who were also at the summit, had earlier tested negative for the virus.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said 50 policemen, including...

Capitol photoNegros Occidental Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said today, January 27, that his office is also investigating a returning overseas Filipino (ROF) from Talisay City for a discrepancy in his quarantine certification.The PLO is investigating the authenticity of the Talisay resident’s quarantine certification from Manila because of a discrepancy in its date, Nellas said.The Talisay resident arrived from the US Virgin Islands and was supposedly quarantined in Manila before returning to Negros Occidental, he said.The PLO is also preparing to file charges for falsification of public documents and violation of health protocols against five other (ROFs), Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz Tuesday.Those facing possible charges are a couple and the...

The Philippine Red Cross in Bacolod City will begin saliva tests for COVID-19 starting Tuesday, February 2, PRC Governor Jay Jalandoni said today, January 28.“PRC Bacolod can conduct 1,440 RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) tests a day using saliva samples,” he said.They have two machines that can each conduct 90 tests every three hours, Jalandoni said.Training of PRC personnel for the saliva tests will be held Monday, and actual testing will start the next day, he said.A saliva test will cost P2,000, which is cheaper than the nasal test that cost P3,800, he said.Meanwhile, PRC Bacolod will assist in the measles, rubella and polio vaccination from Feb. 1 to 28, Jalandoni said.“We will deploy teams to selected barangays,” he said.The pr...