BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The imposition of curfew hours in Negros Occidental is to be lifted on June 1, disclosed Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday.
This was in response to the clamor of the business sector, Lacson said, after getting the consensus of local chief executives in the province to lift the curfew.
This comes after the 12 midnight to 4 a.m. curfew in Bacolod City was also lifted by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, through his issued executive order that took effect May 24.
Asked if the implementation of curfew hours helped in preventing the spread of COVID-19 cases, Lacson replied “I’d like to think that all our policies contributed to addressing of pandemic, in terms of lowering the number of cases.”
But we can do more through the conduct of vaccination, he stressed.
Ironically, the lifting of curfew coincided with the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases on May 26, which rose to 30 compared single digits in previous days.
Lacson said that Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang wants to investigate it, and is pushing for the conduct of retesting.
Health experts earlier warned of rising COVID-19 cases after the campaign period and election day.
“I hope it is not,” Lacson said.
The provincial government initiated 8-days of vaccination activities has been set for every Thursday and Friday of June, as well as on Mondays and Tuesdays on the last week of such month, aiming to increase the number of vaccinated Negrenses.
Tumimbang reported earlier that 74 percent of the 1.8 million Negrenses targeted for inoculation are now fully vaccinated.
On the other hand, the provincial government of Negros Occidental is also returning to a five-day work week on June 1, after almost two years of adopting a four-day work week and a work at home arrangement on the fifth day of the week.*
