The Provincial Health Office reported that 83.52 percent of the locally stranded individuals (LSIs) who entered Negros Occidental on Sunday, January 9, tested positive for COVID-19.
The 76 who tested positive on Sunday brought to 120 the COVID-19 positive LSIs who entered the province in January.
Provincial Health Officer Ernell Tumimbang said the number of travelers to Negros Occidental who have tested positive in January was alarming.
He said because of the rapid antigen tests being conducted on arriving passengers by the provincial government those who are reactive are immediately isolated.
They are then subjected to RT-PCR tests the next day to determine if they are COVID-19 positive, he added.
However, the number of incoming travelers will be drastically reduced with the airline companies now only allowed one flight to the Bacolod Silay Airport a day, starting this week, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health on Monday said Bacolod City is a moderate risk area for COVID-19 classified under Alert Level 3.
The DOH report does not change the National Inter-Agency Task Force classification of Bacolod City at Alert Level 2 until January 15.
Negros Occidental remains under Alert Level 2 with a risk classification of low, the DOH report added.*