BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In anticipation of the thousands of visitors expected to attend the upcoming Bacolod MassKara Festival, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang disclosed that they will further strengthen border protocols in Negros Occidental.
While there will be a collaboration effort between the Bacolod City government and provincial government in strengthening border controls, Tumimbang said they are also finalizing protocols with different government agencies, such as the Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, as well as the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
Aside from the BREDCO and Banago Ports in Bacolod City, tourists may also enter the province through ports of San Carlos and Escalante, as well as through Silay-Bacolod airport in Negros Occidental, he added.
We agreed to set up a composite team at the BREDCO Port, Tumimbang said, in order to monitor persons entering Bacolod City and Negros Occidental that may have fever.
He added that they are also monitoring monkeypox cases abroad, as eventually it will reach Asia as evident by a confirmed case in Iloilo.
“All this monitoring will be used as our basis and guide of what to do if a case is discovered in the province,” Tumimbang said.
On the other hand, he opposed the scrapping of face masks especially during the Masskara Festival next month.
“We should stick to the minimum health protocols,” Tumimbang stressed.*
