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PIMT photo“The demand for COVID-19 vaccines in Negros Occidental is greater than the supply”, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday, August 10.“It is frustrating for the LGUs (local government units) that the supply is coming in by trickles, we are hoping that the Department of Health sees our high performance rate in terms of vaccine rollout,” he said.Negros Occidental received 10,000 doses of Sinovac ad 10,700 doses of Moderna vaccines on Tuesday that will be rolled out right away, he said.Prior to the new delivery Negros Occidental only had a few AstraZeneca vaccines, 50 doses of Johnson & Johnson and about 1,000 doses of Sinovac jabs left, he said.The provincial government has fully vaccinated 154,539 Negrenses that is more than 10 percent of its ...

COVID-19 positive cases in Negros Occidental that hit an all-time high of 4,039 in April after a sudden surge dropped to 1,748 in July and 144 in August, data from the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) molecular laboratory in Silay City showed Tuesday, August 10.Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the COVID-19 positivity rate of the TLJPH molecular laboratory tested samples in April was 16.03 percent and in August 6.59 percent.There was a surge in COVID-19 cases in April that triggered the increase in samples brought to the TLJPH for testing, but the numbers have since declined, he said.The TLJPH molecular laboratory data showed that positivity rate of samples it tested in January was 1.02 percent, February - .97 percent, March - 3.42 percent, April -16...

Capitol file photoNegros Occidental has adequate hospital beds for coronavirus patients despite its having been placed under COVID-19 Alert Level 2 by the Department of Health, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson assured Monday, August 9.The provincial government’s COVID designated hospitals in Valladolid and Cadiz City still have a lot of space for patients, he pointed out.Despite the DOH national biosurveillance report that placed Bacolod City under Alert Level 3 and Negros Occidental on Alert Level 2, the health department’s regional office classified both areas as low risk COVID-19 areas.The number of COVID-19 cases in Western Visayas showed a slow decline, the DOH 6 said.Lacson said during a Regional Development Council meeting Monday, DOH 6 Regional Director Adriano Suba...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has ordered the implementation of biosecurity measures to control and eradicate fly infestation in Negros Occidental poultry farms.Lacson, in Executive Order 21-41 Series of 2021 issued Tuesday, August 10, said there is a need to implement biosecurity measures to keep fly populations below economic injury levels or public health nuisance thresholds in order to protect the ecotourism industry in Negros Occidental and safeguard the health and safety of all Negrenses.It will be a mandatory requirement for all poultry operators and owners in Negros Occidental to submit to the biosecurity measures for the issuance of their business permits to operate, Lacson said.He said there have been reports of an unprecedented fly infestation in poultry farms in the prov...

The Sinovac and Moderna vaccines that arrived at the Iloilo International Airport on Monday, August 9.*Contributed photoNegros Occidental and Bacolod City will receive 20,000 vials of Sinovac and 2,140 vials of Moderna vaccines on Tuesday, City Administrator Em Ang said on Monday, August 9The COVID-19 national vaccination program is following priority groups to allocate the vaccines to those who need them the most because of the global scarcity of supply, Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire of the Department of Health (DOH) said.Bacolod and Negros Occidental will receive 10,000 Sinovac vials and 1,700 Moderna vials each, Ang said.A Sinovac vial is equivalent to one dose and one Moderna vial contains 14 doses, Ang said.They will arrive at the Bacolod–Silay Airport via ...

Cristine Mansinares has been appointed regional director of the Department of Tourism in Western Visayas, the DOT announced Tuesday, August 10.“Expectations are high when managing Region 6, after all, it includes developing and overseeing tourism programs and operations in our country's crown-jewel: Boracay. Moreover, the task during the pandemic also involves vaccination drives for tourism workers,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told DIGICAST NEGROS.It was in this difficult time where Mansinares showed her leadership capabilities as then OIC-regional director, and now regional director, Puyat said, adding: “I am confident that she will deliver and get the job done”.A tourism advocate, Mansinares brings to the DOT her 15 years of extensive experience and has proven ...

The Bacolod Public Information Office will be temporarily closed for disinfection from August 9 to 13 after 14 of its 20 personnel tested positive for COVID-19.The PIO, located at the Bacolod City Government Center, will reopen on August 16, OIC Public Information Officer Danny Dangcalan said Monday, August 9.Two more PIO employees tested negative Monday bringing the number of those who are COVID-free to six, he said.The 14 who tested positive are asymptomatic and in quarantine.Those who have inquiries may call the PIO Hotline at 0960-858-1131, City Mayor’s Office at O34-4350055 or 034-7070000, Emergency Operations Center at 034-4322749, or the city Inter-Agency Task Force at 0942-189-7127 (Sun), 0915-567-0411 (Globe) or 0961-593-8086 (Smart), Dangcalan said.Five securi...