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The Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office temporarily halted the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccination for A4 frontline personnel in essential sectors at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City following a glitch in its master list on Monday, August 2, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The vaccination of the A4 frontline personnel with AZ vaccines purchased by the provincial government will resume Thursday, Diaz said.About 80 persons belonging to the A4 category were vaccinated at the Negros Residences Monday morning when the mass vaccination was halted with many still waiting outside, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said.He apologized for having to halt the vaccination drive Monday morning but said they had to reconcile the number of persons on their list...

Police Station 1 photoA 17-year-old was gunned down by riding-in-tandem suspects at Barangay 35 in Bacolod City Sunday night, August 1.The minor-victim, whose name was withheld by the police, was sitting in a parked tricycle when he was shot to death with a 9mm caliber pistol by two assailants onboard a motorcycle.The suspects wore black jackets, red and grey sweatshirts, shorts, and helmets.The victim was rushed to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital but was declared dead on arrival, the police report showed.Recovered from the crime scene were three fired cartridges of 9mm pistol and one deformed fired bullet.A stray bullet hit bystander Frolinda Ardiente, 72, who sustained a gunshot wound on her right arm. She was rushed to Bacolod Adventist Medical Cent...

Leisure travel between Panay Island and Bacolod City will remain banned until August 15, and Authorized Persons Outside their Residences entering the city must present negative RT-PCR results to protect Bacolodnons from the deadly effect of the COVID-19 Delta variant.This was stressed by Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia in Executive Order No. 42 Series of 2021 extending the General Community Quarantine with Heightened Restrictions (GCQ-HR) in Bacolod City from August 1 to 15, in compliance with the decision of the National Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.He pointed out that national health authorities have warned about the entry into the Philippines of the COVID-19 Delta variant, which is more contagious and more virulent than the original s...

Mayor Pedro Zayco at the Kabankalan City 24th charter anniversary rites.*Richard Malihan photoNegros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson joined the 24th Charter Day Anniversary celebration of Kabankalan City, with the theme “Pagbangon kag Pag-isa sa Tunga sang Pandemya (Rising up and uniting in the midst of the pandemic),” led by Mayor Pedro Zayco Jr. and Vice Mayor Raul Rivera, on Monday, August 2.The progress of Kabankalan City, including the businesses coming in can be greatly attributed to the good governance of Kabankalan’s public officials, Lacson said.He said that Kabankalan is one of the largest, most dynamic and progressive cities of Negros Occidental.“To the people of Kabankalan, we in the government and public service, understand the hardships and difficulty you ...

Two COVID-19 variants of concern cases have been detected in Negros Occidental, DOH regional epidemiologist Glen Alonsabe said Friday, July 30.The two local cases involved a patient from La Carlota City found to be infected with the Alpha variant and a Cadiz resident who was hit by the Beta variant, he said.The samples of the two local cases were sent to the Philippine Genome Center by the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital molecular laboratory in Bacolod City, he said, adding that the results were released last week.The Alpha and Beta variants are four times more contagious that the original SARS-CoV-2, he said.The Delta Variant is eight times for contagious, he added.The Alpha variant was first detected in the United Kingdom and the Beta variant in Sout...

San Carlos PIO photoEight job order (JO) workers of the San Carlos City government in Negros Occidental tested positive for the use of illegal drugs this week, Mayor Renato Gustilo said Friday, July 30.The eight JOs will be dismissed from their jobs, he said.“Our standard policy is if you are a JO and are found positive for the use of illegal drugs you will be out rightly dismissed from the service,” he said.Those found positive after surprise drug tests were Bantay Dagat, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and City Environment Management Office JO workers, Gustilo said.More surprise drug tests of San Carlos City employees were conducted Friday and the results are expected to be out next week, he said.San Carlos City conducts surprise drug tests on it em...