Travel ban awaits NIATF approval

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the proposed week-long travel moratorium between Panay and Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, may soon be implemented once the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) approves it.

Lacson said the Regional IATF has endorsed the proposed moratorium to the NIATF due to the surge in COVID-19 active cases all over the region.

The RIATF and Regional Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases, in a joint resolution dated May 15, 2021, said local government executives requested for a moratorium on the trips of non-essential travelers and Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APORs), except for APORs in the healthcare sector, humanitarian workers and uniformed personnel, to contain the virus in their respective localities.

Should the request be approved, the joint resolution said a two-day lead time will be given for the moratorium to be announced or disseminated so that affected travelers can prepare, and business operations will not be inconvenienced.

Earlier, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas requested for a travel moratorium from Iloilo City to Negros Occidental due to the rising Covid-19 active cases in his city, stressing that their “health service will get overwhelmed soon if left unchecked.”

In a Facebook post Saturday, Treñas said, “Our cases are increasing, our quarantine facilities are getting full, and it is getting increasingly difficult for Covid cases to get to the hospitals”.

Lacson, who supported the proposed week-long travel moratorium, said that Covid-19 active cases in the province are still manageable.

“But these can go out of control if we become complacent,” Lacson warned.

As of May 15, Negros Occidental logged 3,313 Covid-19 active cases, including the highly-urbanized Bacolod City, while Iloilo City had 625 active cases, and Iloilo Province had 575 new infections, Department of Health 6 record showed.

For May 17, 2021, DOH-6 logged 117 new cases for Negros Occidental followed by Iloilo City with 48, Iloilo with 45 and Bacolod City with 32.