BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – New confirmed COVID cases here, five in only two days, will not affect quarantine levels as the first 15 days of the modified general quarantine draws to a close.
Lawyer Rayfrando Diaz told DNX most of the 22 total confirmed cases are either returning Filipinos working (OFWs) abroad or those classified as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) or provincial residents who were not able to return from other places in the country due to lockdowns.
Diaz, the Capitol’s administrator, said the new cases are not due to local transmission but from returning residents who could have contracted it from other places.
On her part, lawyer Czarina Tan, spokesperson of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson noted an interesting pattern in the recent positive cases who are either from Cebu or Manila.
Most tested negative in RT-PCR tests (READ: What is an RT-PCR test as opposed to a rapid test?) facilitated either by the Coast Guard or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which raises questions as to how they became negative upon returning here.
Tan told DNX this would be a point for Capitol officials to discuss and look into as inter-island travel resumes with the easing of quarantine restrictions.
