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The Department of Health on Monday, May 10, downgraded Bacolod City’s COVID-19 risk classification from high to moderate, while Negros Occidental remains a low risk area despite an increase in coronavirus cases in the province.Dr. Marie Jocelyn Te, in a Department of Health “Isyung Bakuna” online briefing on the COVID-19 situation in Western Visayas Monday, May 10, said Bacolod’s classification was lowered because its average daily attack rate per 100,000 population dropped.She said Bacolod’ daily attack rate that was at 9.47 percent from April 12 to 25 dropped to 8.35 percent from April 26 to May 9.Negros Occidental’s daily attack rate also dropped from 4.94 percent from April 12 to 25 to 4.73 percent from April 26 to May 9 to maintain its low risk classification, she said....

The Land Transportation Office in Bacolod City, the Commission on Elections in Bago City and the Central Negros Electric Cooperative field office in Silay City have temporarily been shutdown after some members of their staff were hit with COVID-19.The Pag-IBIG office in Bacolod City was also briefly closed for disinfection last week when 11 of its staff tested positive for COVID-19 but has since reopened, Dr. Chris Sorongon, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center deputy, said Monday, May 10.LTO Bacolod Chief Reuben Tampos said one their employees who had gone home to Iloilo tested positive there.So on Wednesday last week mass testing of all employees was conducted that showed two more positive for COVID-19, he added.The Bacolod LTO is tentatively set to reopen on May 17, Tampos sa...

The Commission on Elections will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday starting this week to accommodate the growing number of people wanting to register to vote, Bacolod Election Officer Kathrina Trinio Caña said.In March, the Comelec shortened voter registration hours to 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays because of the surge in COVID-19 cases.Eight employees of the Bacolod Comelec office also tested positive for COVID-19 in late March causing its temporary shutdown.Since they are operating on a 50 percent workforce the Bacolod Comelec only has eight employees reporting daily so they are undermanned, Caña said.However, they are doing their best to accommodate as many voter registrants as they can, she added.Long lines of people have been seen gathering ...

The Salvador Benedicto police in Negros Occidental are investigating the death of man whose body was found at a pineapple plantation in Purok Marang, Barangay Bago, on Sunday, May 9.The body of Teofesto Villaruel, 38, of Purok Marang, was already in a state of decomposition when it was discovered, the police said.The victim was last seen by his cousin more than a week ago, in the morning of May 3.He was identified by his relatives, the police report said.The cause of death is still being determined, pending the result of the post-mortem examination.*

President Rodrigo Duterte has declared Thursday, May 13, a regular holiday throughout the country in observance of Eid’l Fitr or the Feast of Ramadan.Proclamation No. 1142, signed by Duterte on Monday, May 10, said Eid’l Fitr is celebrated by the Muslim world for three days after the end of the month long fasting.“In order to bring the religious and cultural significance of the Eid’l Fitr to the fore of national consciousness, it is necessary to declare Thursday, May 13, a regular holiday throughout the country,” the proclamation said.“The entire Filipino nation should have the full opportunity to join their Muslim brothers and sisters in peace and harmony in the observance and celebration of Eid’l Fitr, subject to community quarantine, social distancing, and other public healt...

OCTA Research Group has tagged Bacolod City and two other cities as “areas of concern” following the rise in their COVID-19 cases.The independent research group in a report released Saturday, May 8, said the two other cities are Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.OCTA said from May 1 to 7 Bacolod’s COVID-19 cases increased by 19 percent, had a daily attack rate of 13.38 percent with hospital occupancy at 50 percent and ICU at 49 percent.The Department of Health in Western Visayas has also tagged Bacolod City as a high risk area for COVID-19. The city had 935 active COVID-19 cases on Sunday, May 9, the DOH reported.City Administrator Em-Ang said the OCTA tagging of Bacolod as an area of concern is to be expected because its cases were very low ...

Three more Negros Occidental provincial government employees tested positive for COVID-19 during the weekend bringing the total to 34, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Sunday, May 9.The new COVID-19 positive employees are from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, agriculture and environment offices, he said.Diaz said except for the Procurement Services Depot that had ten employees and a security guard who tested positive for COVID-19 and was shutdown, the rest of the provincial government offices will remain open.Negros Occidental’s 2,263 active COVID-19 active cases on Saturday rose to 2,437 on Sunday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.The areas with triple-digit COVID-19 cases on Sunday were San Carlos City – 326, Sipalay City – 161, La Carlota City and Ba...

Bacolod DRRM file photoThe national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Saturday, May 8, issued a new protocol for Returning Overseas Filipinos and Overseas Filipino Workers, Councilor Israel Salanga, chair of the Bacolod Action Team on OFWs and ROFs, said.The new protocol states that all arriving travelers should undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. The first 10 days of which should be observed in a quarantine facility, with the remainder to be completed under home quarantine in their respective local government units of destination, he said.This means the swabbing for an RT-PCR test on the fifth day of arrival and being allowed to immediately return to home provinces if they yield negative test results will no longer will...