Negros Oriental Appeals for Easier Travel Restrictions

The Negros Oriental provincial Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has agreed to ease travel restrictions in the province to allow the reopening of the economy without prejudice to public health and safety starting next month.

Capitol public information officer Bimbo Miraflor, in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday, said this developed during a virtual meeting Monday evening of the provincial IATF, chaired by Governor Roel Degamo.

However, the plan of the province is still subject to the approval of the national IATF, a resolution of which will be sent to them this week, he explained. In the meeting, the provincial IATF agreed on the proposed new requirements for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals entering the province.

Fully vaccinated individuals are requested to present their original vaccination card and a valid identification card and leave photocopies of the same at the border of entry, Miraflor said. Travelers who only received the first dose or have yet to be vaccinated are required to present negative antigen testing for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) valid for 48 hours within the period of travel to Negros Oriental, he added.

The governor is hopeful the national IATF will act on the recommended easing of travel restrictions at the earliest time possible, as well as on the province’s request to “reconsider” its current alert level 4 status.

Negros Oriental is under alert level 4 from October 20-31.

“Before the national IATF comes out with a resolution where the province is placed on a particular level of quarantine, there should be validation of data on the ground,” Miraflor said, quoting the governor.

These data include the number of Covid-19 cases in the province and the actual Covid-19 bed isolation occupancy of the different hospitals here, he added. He said Siquijor is placed under alert level status 2, because many of its cases are being admitted to hospitals in Dumaguete, the reason why its facilities are full.

At the time the alert level 4 status was raised over Negros Oriental, cases were still rising in what was described as the third surge. While the new alert level system “cannot be appealed”, the provincial IATF will still send the resolution asking for reconsideration.

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