Negros Oriental remains on Alert Level 4 as the Inter-Agency Task Force approved on Thursday the recommendation to further expand the pilot implementation of the Alert Level System starting Nov. 1 in Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Northern Mindanao as aresa for special monitoring.
The Alert Level 4 category for Negros Oriental, Bacolod City, Aurora Province, and Davao Occidental has been expanded until Nov. 14.
The neighboring province of Siquijor has been placed under Alert Level 3, while the other neighbor north of Dumaguete, the province of Negros Occidental, is at Alert Level 2.
The new alert level classifications were announced even as the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force appealed to the National IATF for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Oct. 20 to reconsider the declaration of Negros Oriental under Alert Level 4.
In its resolution, the local IATF stated that the new alert level caught the Province by surprise, contrary to the local condition as local government units here have been intensifying their vaccination activities and the implementation of health and safety protocols.
The local IATF said the unexpected declaration will adversely affect the local businesses and jobs in the Province with the new community quarantine policy.
However, Gov. Roel Degamo has issued on Oct. 19 Executive Order 38 adopting a set of guidelines under Alert Level 4 classification for the Province.
Alert Level 4 is equivalent to the current Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine.
In a Provincial IATF meeting, Siaton Mayor Fritz Diaz expressed concern about placing the Province under a stricter status, making it tougher for the local economy to recover.
With this, the Governor urged the local government units to be focused and decisive in the vaccination activities to balance the response to COVID-19, and to keep the economy open. “We really need the LGUs to actively participate in this fight against this pandemic,” he said.
The Governor called the attention of the local health units to activate the isolation or quarantine facility in every barangay, including the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) to evaluate and monitor patients, ensuring that only those moderate-to-severe cases will be hospitalized.
The Province has vaccinated 315,204 residents (35 percent) as of Oct. 19, out of the 908,939 target population, said Assistant Provincial Health Officer Dr. Liland Estacion.
Under the IATF guidelines, alert level systems classified from Alert Levels 1 to 5 will cover entire cities or municipalities where the transmission of the COVID-19 infections is being recorded. (JCT/PIA7 NegOr)
