The Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park (BTLNP) in Negros Oriental will resume operations tomorrow after it was placed under temporary lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) threat.
Indira Requiron Puspus, the cultural and tourism development officer of Sibulan town, in an interview yesterday, said the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office wrote Mayor Jose Abiera on Wednesday informing him of the scheduled reopening of the famous tourist destination in the province.
She relayed that PENRO chief Nestor Canda, in his letter to the mayor, said that disinfection of the park was done in the first week of September while all of the staff and wardens of the BTLNP have all tested negative of Covid-19.
Dr. Jan Sibala, the municipal health officer of Sibulan, had issued medical certificates for them, Canda said in his letter.
Early this month, the Twin Lakes was shut down as a precautionary measure to stem the spread of the virus after a nurse, who tested positive for Covid-19, visited the place on Aug. 31, as verified by contact tracing teams.
The provincial government-paid allied health worker, assigned at the Inapoy Community Primary Hospital in Barangay Inapoy, Mabinay, Negros Oriental, had gone to the lake even before the release of her throat swab test result.
The Twin Lakes is under the operational control of the Protected Area Management Board after it was declared a natural park via Presidential Proclamation No. 414, series 2000, and signed by then President Joseph Estrada.
But while PAMB is managing this protected area, Sibulan has jurisdiction over it considering its geographic location, Puspus said, noting that the local government unit is continuously providing assistance and support to the Twin Lakes natural park.
The Twin Lakes natural park straddles Sibulan, Valencia, and San Jose towns.*PNA
