Bacolod and Dumaguete in Negros Island are among ten additional cities that have been added to the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus Eight areas, in the national government’s vaccination priority, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced in a press briefing Thursday, June 24.
The other cities on the list are Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro City, Baguio City, Zamboanga City, Tuguegarao City, General Santos City, Naga City, and Legazpi City, he said.
The basis for their inclusion is the surge of COVID-19 cases in their areas, their being highly urbanized with dense environments, and their contribution to the regional or national economy, he said.
Father Nicanor Austriaco, lead investigator for the University of Santo Tomas-CoVAX Vaccine Awareness Team, at the press briefing said “vaccinating the NCR plus eight, and now also including the plus 10 cities, will protect other provinces and help contain the disease and help achieve population protection”.
Bacolod City had 101 new COVID-19 cases and Negros Occidental had 160 on Thursday, the Department of Health reported.
The DOH said Bacolod City has 1,957 active COVID-19 cases and Negros Occidental has 1,718.*