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Bacolod PIO photoMayor Evelio Leonardia is requesting the national government to allocate more vaccines against COVID-19 for Bacolod City amid the continued spike in local cases.“We are being hit hard by this new wave of COVID-19 infections. Ramping up our vaccination program will be critical to saving lives and restoring economic activity in our city", Leonardia said in a letter dated May 5 to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force for COVID-19.Galvez early this week said the government might have to prioritize the inoculation of residents in Metro Manila and other key areas of the country hardest hit by the pandemic, including Bacolod City.The Department of Health has classified Bacolod City as a high risk area for COVID-19.Bacolod ...

Engels Escultor photoThe emergency room and obstetrics department of the Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, have temporarily been closed for disinfection.They will be reopened when the COVID-19 tests results of their five nurses and doctor who were exposed to a coronavirus-positive patient are released, Vermont Juvahib, head of the Escalante City Hospital Management Department, said Thursday, May 6.On Tuesday, a patient needing an emergency cesarean operation underwent a rapid test for COVID-19 and tested negative, he said.After the operation the patient was again swabbed for an RT-PCR test and tested positive for COVID-19, he added.The patient and her child have been transferred to the Cadiz District Hospital that is a COVID-19 desi...

There are now 90 COVID-19 positive Bacolod policemen in quarantine, PLt. Ma. Liberty Indiape, Bacolod police spokesperson said Thursday, May 6.She said two more policemen tested positive, while four have recovered.The Bacolod City Police Office headquarters and all of its 10 police stations have had COVID-hit personnel, she said.The Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office headquarters and police stations also have 33 COVID-19 positive policemen, NOCPPO spokesperson Lt. Abegael Donasco said.*

The Victorias City Hall will reopen on Monday with 50 percent of its workforce, Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca said Thursday, May 6.Senior citizens will be allowed to work from home, he said.Palanca had ordered the temporary closure of the city hall this week after 21 of the city government employees tested positive for the virus.One more city government employee has tested positive for the virus bringing the total to 22, he said.The active COVID-19 cases in Victorias City were 101 on Thursday, he added.The Victorias City Resort and Gawahon Eco Park have temporarily been close following the spike in COVID-19 cases.*

Bacolod City PIO photoBacolod City has already administered a total of 10,750 shots of Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines, as of April 30, 2021, according to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).From 7,801 doses initially administered, 2,949 more doses were added by end April, a press release from the Bacolod Information Office said.These vaccine shots were administered by the EOC, the City Health Office (CHO), Barangay Vaccination Centers, Corazon Locsin Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH), Dr. Pablo O. Torre Memorial Hospital, Bacolod Adventist Medical Center, The Doctors Hospital Inc., Bacolod Queen of Mercy Hospital (BQMH), Metro Bacolod Hospital and Medical Center, and South Bacolod General Hospital.This week - May 3 to 7- the EOC and the COVID-19 Vaccination Council (C...

A 40-year-old man was shot dead by an unidentified suspect while he was attending a wake at Barangay Tapi in Kabakalan City, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, May 4.Killed was Ridardo Cabison Jr. of Barangay Nagasi, La Carlota City.The victim was watching people playing card games at the wake when he was shot by an unidentified man.He was shot on the nape and in the stomach when he tried to face his assailant.When he fell to the ground, he was shot again two times, the police report said.The victim was brought by his family to Brgy. Tabugon Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.Recovered from the crime scene were two fired cartridges of a .45 caliber pistol.Police have yet to establish the motive for the killing.*

Capitol file photoThe number of occupants at quarantine facilities in Negros Occidental are hitting critical levels with the daily triple-digit rise in COVID-19 cases, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, May 5.The COVID-19 positive cases in the province in April were more than 4,000, the highest since the pandemic started in March last year, he said.Negros Occidental also had 2,565 active COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the Provincial Incident Management Team reported.“It’s a record high already, it is way above last year’s figures. It is something to be worried about…obviously the vaccines would really be the solution but unfortunately our country is not receiving enough for a speedier rollout,” Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said.In fact n...

The Negros Occidental Procurement Services Depot that is believed to be the main source of the COVID-19 spread among the provincial government employees has been closed, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Wednesday, May 5.A legislative assistant at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan tested positive Wednesday bringing the number of provincial government employees hit by the virus to 32, Diaz said.Ten of the 15 PSD employees tested positive for COVID-19, he said.The five PSD employees who tested negative have been assigned to other tasks. The depot will be reopened when all of its ten other employees, who are now at the Mambukal Resort in Murcia, have recovered, he added.The PSD personnel are the ones who distribute the provincial government’s supplies from the Department...