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Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued an executive order Thursday, April 29, extending the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in Bacolod City to May 31, which includes curfew from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. and a partial liquor ban.Leonardia, in Executive Order No. 21, Series of 2021, also strongly urges the public to limit mass gatherings such as movie screenings, concerts and other entertainment activities, religious services, and work conferences to 30 percent of the seating or venue capacity in view of the rising number COVID-19 cases in the city.The mayor said while Bacolod City has maintained its MGCQ category, its constituents must not be complacent, especially with the spike of COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks.The Department of Health in Western Visayas has classified Baco...

COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental hit a new high Thursday, April 29, at 303 in a single day, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.La Carlota City had the highest number of new cases at 60, Diaz also said.The Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital molecular laboratory test results showed 303 COVID-19 positive cases in Negros Occidental and five from Bacolod City for a total of 308 on Thursday.There are 3,752 from Negros Occidental who tested positive for COVID-19 in April, the laboratory also reported.The areas with triple-digit COVID-19 cases in April are San Carlos City with 695, La Carlota City – 307, Himamaylan City – 288, Kabankalan City – 222, Bago City – 211, Cadiz City – 171, Cauayan – 158, Murcia -158 Sipalay City – 147, Binalbagan – 143, Pontevedra – 1...

Image from PixabayThere has been an increase in pregnant women hit by COVID-19 in Bacolod City.“We have 15 pregnant women who are in our isolation facility now,” City Administrator Em Ang said Thursday, April 29.Pregnant women are tested for COVID-19 because all patients admitted at the City Health Office (CHO) Lying-in Clinic must be negative prior to admission, Ang, who is also the executive director of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), said.“Close and skin-to-skin contact with patients during childbirth is inevitable for healthcare workers at the Lying-in Clinic. Thus, it is necessary to know whether they test positive or negative (for COVID-19), so that clinic staff can take precautionary measures,” Ang said.Pre-admission testing will not only protect healthcar...

Capitol photoMore Negros Occidental mayors are joining Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson who will be vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital in Silay City on Friday, April 29.Among the mayors who will receive Sinovac jabs with the governor are Pedro Zayco of Kabankalan City, John Rey Tabujara of Cauayan, Rhumyla Nicor Mangilimutan of La Castellana, Manuel Escalante of Manapla, Nadie Arceo of Hinigaran and Ernesto Estrao of Hinob-an, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.Also expected to be vaccinated Friday are board members Araceli Somosa, Sixto Guanzon Jr., Victor Javellana and Samson Mirhan, he said.They are being vaccinated with Sinovac vaccines because they are not sure if the AstraZeneca second dose will come on time, Lacson said....

Former Rep. Alfredo Benitez has not authorized anyone to collect money in his behalf, House Minority Floor Leader Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod Partylist) said Thursday, April 29.Benitez, who recently registered to vote in Bacolod, is being urged to run for mayor of the city. The former congressman of the third district of Negros OccidentaL said he is keeping his options open.Paduano said they have received reports that certain individuals and groups misrepresenting Benitez have been collecting money for “A Better Bacolod Movement, Albee for Mayor Group.”The former congressman “has not authorized and will not authorize anybody or groups to collect money,” Paduano said.He urged those who have received solicitation letters or requests using the name of Benitez to report thos...

Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will remain under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in May despite the surge in COVID-19 cases in both areas.The Department of Health in Western Visayas on Monday, April 26, classified Bacolod City as a high risk COVID-19 area, and Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier asked that Negros Occidental be placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) so more stringent measures could be imposed to curb the spread of the virus in the province.However, President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, April 28, approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force to place Negros Occidental and Bacolod City among the areas in the country that will remain under MGCQ for the month of May, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.The president also app...

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat during her Western Visayas virtual press conference Wednesday, April 28.*Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said Wednesday, April 28, that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the tourism revenue in Western Visayas to drop by -82.55 percent.Tourism revenue in Western Visayas dropped to P22.9 billion in 2020 from P131.4 billion, she said in a virtual press conference.She said 5.8 million tourists visited Western Visayas in 2019 but the pandemic caused the number to drop to 1.1 million last year.“The Department of Tourism is here to help all of you. The mandate of the DOT is to promote tourism but we sought ways to give financial assistance to those who lost their jobs and to provide loans (to businesses) at zero interest rates,” s...