BACOLOD CITY – Rising coronavirus cases prompted Negros Occidental officials to request that the province revert from modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) to general community quarantine (GCQ).
The Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) and the Regional Task Force (RTF) for Covid-19 jointly endorsed the resolution approved on Saturday, a day after Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson sent the request to RIATF chair Juan Jovian Engeniero of the Department of the Interior and Local Government-6 and RTF chair Jose Roberto Nuñez of the Office of the Civil Defense-6.
Lacson cited the “overwhelming spike” in Covid-19 cases in the province as the basis for the request. As of April 10, active cases in Negros Occidental surged to 1,123, from a two-digit level in February.
Of the total, 267 new cases were reported that day, according to the Department of Health.
Overall, Western Visayas has 2,939 active cases as of Saturday.
“It is hereby resolved by the joint RIATF and RTF to endorse the request of the Province of Negros Occidental to escalate the community quarantine status of Negros Occidental from MGCQ to GCQ,” the endorsement read.
Based on the list of CQ status nationwide announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Sunday afternoon, Negros Occidental was still among those under MGCQ until April 30.
Lacson also ordered a limit to mass gatherings up to 30 percent of the seating or venue capacity under Executive Order 21-21 issued on April 7.
Section 2 of the order also stated that localized and targeted lockdowns shall only be limited to specific areas within the local government unit and shall not include national roads. (PNA)
