Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz tested negative for COVID-19, but two more of his staff were positive for the virus Monday, May 3.
There are now seven employees at the Provincial Administrator’s Office, two at the Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital and one each from the Provincial Legal Office and Provincial Health Office who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said one employee at the Provincial Administrator’s Office went on a night out with friends, was hit by the virus and infected his officemates.
Random testing of employees from various provincial government departments is being eyed to prevent the spread of the virus, Diaz said.
Employees tasked with field work should also explore holding virtual meetings to avoid exposure to the virus, he added.
Lacson said the four-day work week at the provincial government will continue.
Active COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental hit 2,349 Monday, the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) reported.
San Carlos City still had the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 351, followed by La Carlota City with 197, Sipalay City -156, Himamaylan City – 142, Silay City and Bago City -124 each, Kabankalan City -110, and Moises Padilla -102, the PIMT added.
But the Department of Health has classified Negros Occidental as a low risk area for COVID-19.
There were 244 new COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental on Monday, the DOH also reported.
Lacson said the number of active cases rose beyond 2,000 because there were more new cases than recoveries.
He reminded local government officials not to allow the holding of cockfights in their areas, pointing out that only “e-Sabong” or electronic cockfights are allowed.
The spread of the virus in numerous areas in southern Negros Occidental began at cockpits.*