Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he expects Negros Occidental to remain under Alert Level 2 in the first half of April because of its low COVID-19 vaccination performance.
Negros Occidental has fully vaccinated 60.08 percent of its target population against COVID-19 making it the lowest performer in Western Visayas, the Department of Health 6 reported Monday, March 28.
Negros Occidental has also only fully vaccinated 57.02 percent of its A2 or senior citizen target population, making it the second lowest performer in Region 6, the DOH also reported.
The DOH 6 said Negros Occidental remains a minimal risk area for COVID -19 under Alert Level 2.
Bacolod City, on the other hand, is the top performer in the region, the DOH said. It has vaccinated 129.42 percent of its target population and 147.34 percent of its A2 target, the DOH added.
The DOH said Bacolod is a minimal risk area for COVID-19 under Alert Level 1.
Negros Occidental has the biggest population in Western Visayas at 2.6 million making it have the highest target population for vaccination, the DOH said.
The DOH placed Bacolod’s population at 590,174 percent.
Lacson said Negros Occidental has fully vaccinated 60 percent of its target population and 5 percent are waiting for their second dose, so the province is close to 65 percent.
However, with the local campaign period having started the vaccination drive could further slowed slow down, Lacson said.
“If it was slow before, it will even be slower now, “he said.
Negros Occidental could remain under Alert Level 2, which is actually good because venues will be allowed to accommodate only 70 percent of their capacities, Lacson said.*