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The Negros Occidental Public Information Office and Provincial Treasurer’s Office at the Capitol in Bacolod City were closed Tuesday, June 1, as a precaution against COVID 19, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.The PIO will be closed for five days because its employees are under observation since a companion of one their co-workers tested positive for COVID-19, he said.The PIO employee who lives in the same house as the one who tested positive for COVID-19 is also not feeling well, he said.The PIO employees will be tested for COVID-19 after five days, Diaz said.The Provincial Treasurer’s Office was closed for half a day for disinfection Tuesday after two of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, he added.The Treasurer’s Office reopened later in the day, h...

Norppo photoPCol. Glenn Mayam assumed the leadership of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NORPPO) as officer-in-charge Tuesday, June 1, following the reassignment of PCol. Bryant Demot to Police Regional Office 7.Mayam and Demot belong to Philippine National Police Academy Class ’98 Kabalikat. Mayam was previously assigned at the Police Regional Office 7 Headquarters.The turn-over of command ceremony was officiated by PBrig. Gen. Mafelino Bazar, the Deputy Regional Director for Administration of Police Regional Office 7, at the NOPPO Multipurpose Hall, at Camp Francisco C. Fernandez Jr. in Brgy. Agan-an, Sibulan, Negros Oriental, Tuesday afternoon.Demot thanked the personnel of NOPPO for the relentless support they extended during his stint as the provincial dir...

PIA file photoThe Carlos Hilado Memorial State College (CHMSC) will observe a 12-day freeze and stay at home protocol to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.In an advisory Tuesday, June 1, the school management said the new scheme will start effective June 2 to 13 to provide the faculty and staff with options to effectively address their mental health and wellness concerns, stop and prevent the cycle of local transmission of COVID-19, and for the safety and well-being of all.All campuses will be closed on June 3 to 6 and 11 to 13 for disinfection of offices, faculty rooms, workstations, and premises, while office heads, faculty, and staff will work from home on June 3, 4, and 11. Only a minimal skeleton crew will remain at work on campus, the advisory said.“While ...

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, League of Cities of the Philippines national president, together with other Local Chief Executives (LCEs) will attend the townhall meeting organized by the Department of Health (DOH) and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) Wednesday, June 2.The online session will discuss COVID-19 vaccine prioritization and registration. It will also tackle the roles LCEs play to ensure efficient vaccination rollout among eligible priority groups, a press release from the Bacolod Information Office said.Among the officials expected to participate are Governors, City and Municipal Mayors and Barangay Captains. Those who are directly involved in their respective localities are also invited.The event is a continuation of the DOH and ULAP’s part...

President Rodrigo Duterte announced Monday night, May 31, that Negros Occidental and Bacolod City will remain under Modified General Community Quarantine in June.However, the Department of Health in Western Visayas had raised the COVID-19 classification of Bacolod City from moderate to high risk Monday morning, May 31.Negros Occidental, on the other hand, remains a low risk area, the DOH said.The DOH said the average COVID-19 daily attack rate of Bacolod City rose from 9.85 percent from May 3 to 16 to 10.98 percent from May 17 to 30.Classified along with Bacolod City as a high risk area is Iloilo City, while moderate risk areas are Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo province, the DOH said.Classified as low risk along with Negros Occidental is Aklan.The overall clas...

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has extended the duration of the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) over Negros Occidental until 11:59 p.m. of June 30, and shortened curfew by an hour to curb the spread of COVID-19.“Upon our doctors advice, we will keep the four-day work week and one day work from home schedule“ of the provincial government employees, Lacson also told DIGICAST NEGROS.Lacson, in Executive Order No. 21-27 Series of 2021 set curfew over Negros Occidental from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. in June from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. in May.Exempted from curfew are persons in need of emergency services, personnel in cargo vehicles, and Authorized Persons Outside their Residence with a valid work schedule.EO 21-27 states that uniform travel protocols under Inter-Agency Task Force for Em...

Bacolod CIty PIO file photoSenate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the bill establishing a P600 million Bacolod City General Hospital (BCGH) was approved by the Senate on third reading Monday, May 31.“Now it will await the president’s signature,” Zubiri told DIGICAST NEGROS.The senator said he is optimistic President Rodrigo Duterte will sign it into law.The hospital will cater to residents of Bacolod City, said Zubiri, author and co-sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1647, the counterpart measure to House Bill No. 6731 authored by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya.Right now, the whole province of Negros Occidental has only one tertiary government hospital and Bacolod alone has a population of over half a million people, Zubiri said."We saw how our hospitals have stru...

Mayor Jaojoco photoThe Toboso Municipal Hall will be locked down from Monday, March 31, to Wednesday, June 2, after a department head tested positive for COVID-19, Mayor Richard Jaojoco said.“This is to give way to disinfection and contact tracing,” he said.The municipal government’s accountant tested positive for Covid-19 and they have swabbed about 20 to 30 of his close contacts for RT-PCR tests, Jaojoco said.Their test results will determine if more contact tracing needs to be undertaken, he said.The last time the accountant was at the town hall was on Wednesday, May 26, and he is now confined at a hospital. He is symptomatic and has low oxygenation, Jaojoco said.A member of the accountant’s family also tested positive for COVID-19.Jaojoco, who is temporarily...