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Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will comply with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) directive that fully vaccinated individuals need not present negative COVID-19 test results when travelling within the Philippines.Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he is issuing an executive order Tuesday, July 6, enforcing IATF-EID Resolution No. 124-5 that allows fully vaccinated individuals to enter Negros Occidental without presenting negative RT-PCR test results.The no RT-PCR results rule will apply two weeks after an individual’s second dose, he said.Under the new IATF-EID directive, fully vaccinated individuals only need to present their vaccination card for interzonal travel and intrazonal movement.Lacson said he has instruct...

Capitol photoMore Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines are arriving in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will receive 10,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines each on Tuesday. July 6, Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, head of the infectious disease section of the Department of Health in Western Visayas, said.The provincial government was also informed that on July 15, it will receive 3,500 of the 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines it purchased, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, July 5.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has promised to give the 31 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental 1,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines each for their employees so their workplaces will be safe, Diaz said.However, since only 3,500 doses are initially ...

303rd IB photoA suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) who was killed in an encounter with government soldiers in the hinterlands of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, on Sunday, January 4, was linked to an ambush of a policeman and other killings.Randy Tapales, an alleged member of the NPA Special Partisan Unit, died in a clash with 62nd Infantry Battalion soldiers in Sitio Pitik-Pitik, Barangay Luz. The soldiers were conducting security operations following reports of the presence of NPA rebels in the area.Cpt. Mervin Rosal, civil military operations officer of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said that the firefight between the government troopers and the rebels lasted for about five minutes. No soldiers were injured in the encounter, he added.Recovered from the scene...

Richard Malihan photoThe Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City is only accepting emergency surgical operations until further notice, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, July 5.The TLJPH emergency and operating rooms will only be accepting emergency cases until a risk assessment is completed and they are confident there are no more COVID-19 positive cases at the hospital, he said.Dr. Mary Ann Maestral, TLJPH officer-in-charge, and Dr. Girlie Pinongan, Hospital Operations Department OIC, recommended this because of the increasing number of COVID-19 infected frontline staff, Diaz said.Diaz said two more staff of the TLJPH tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and Monday.There were five other TLJPH frontliners and some members of ...

The Negros Occidental provincial government has taken over the management of its Negros First CyberCentre in Bacolod City.It was a very smooth transfer from the Negros Property Management and Development Corp. (NPMDC), Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Monday, July 5.Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson had signed a mutual termination agreement with NPMDC in May to end its management of the provincial government-owned NFCC.A new security group has been hired by the provincial government to secure the NFCC, Diaz said.New security features have also been put in place, he said.Meanwhile, the plan to transfer the Negros Occidental Capitol from Bacolod City to Talisay City is still on, Lacson said.Lacson said they have notified the contractor who won the bid to build the ...

Victorias PNP photoA 12-year-old girl drowned at a mangrove nursery area at Aqua Cards in Barangay 13, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, Sunday afternoon, July 4.The girl, a resident of Hacienda Basa 2, Barangay 13, went with her father, who was on duty as a Bantay Katunggan (Mangrove Watcher) in the area.The victim swam in the deep portion of the river, but drowned due to the strong current, police records showed.The victim was rushed to Kaayong Lawas Medical Foundation clinic but was pronounced dead on arrival.*