Negros Occ might remain under Alert Level 3 for entire February

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Tuesday that the province might remain under Alert Level 3 for remainder of February 2022 as the downtrend in COVID-19 cases is not substantial compared to what happened in the last quarter of 2021.

But Lacson hopes that the cases in the province will continue to go down like what is happening in other parts of the country.

As of Feb 7, the Provincial Incident Management Team (PIMT) reported that Negros Occidental has 3,455 active cases.

The number, however, is far from the October and September 2021 figures which peaked above the 4,000-mark.

The province also recorded 75 new cases on Feb 7.

In preparation for the third round of the National Vaccination Days, Lacson said he has instructed Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz to maintain the province’s record as a top performer.

Earlier, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) said it is optimistic in reaching the 70 percent population threshold of fully vaccinated persons by end-February following a slowdown in inoculation due to super typhoon “Odette” in December 2021.

Data as of Feb 4 indicated that at least 59.40 percent of individuals in the province are fully vaccinated, or roughly 1,084,254 persons.

Another 176,489 have received their first dose.