Bacolod City – COVID-19 cases in Negros Occidental have risen by about 88 percent over an almost two-week period, with seven deaths, according to a report of the Provincial Incident Management Team.
Cases increased from 140 on November 1 to 264 on the 13th, PIMT reports added.
Provincial Inter Agency Task Force Action officer Rayfrando Diaz noted a 79.78 percent occupancy rate of COVID cases at the Cadiz District Hospital, with 44 confirmed to be infected and 27 others suspected to have been infected as of Nov. 12.
Those confined at CDH are mostly unvaccinated, Diaz said.
He also anticipates an increase in COVID-19 cases during the holiday season, due to more relaxed health protocols.
The wearing of face masks, both outdoors and indoors is now optional, except in medical facilities.
On the contrary, Diaz said they are expecting more tourist arrivals in Negros Occidental with the more relaxed travel protocols.
Diaz made the statement after the Regional Office of the Department of Tourism in Western Visayas reported that Boracay is the tourism destination with most tourist arrivals after the pandemic.
“The MassKara Festival, although it’s an event of Bacolod City, has boosted our tourism in October. We hope to have a triple effect in the coming months,” he added.
He also agreed with the statement of Department of Tourism regional director for Western Visayas, Cristine Mansinares, that while only Boracay has reached pre-pandemic levels of tourist arrivals in the region, Negros Occidental and the rest of Western Visayas are well on their way to recovery.
Diaz even pointed out that flights between Bacolod and Manila are now operating eight times a day, while Bacolod to Cebu flights are now at twice daily.
Direct Bacolod to Davao flights have also resumed this month, and Diaz revealed flights between Bacolod and Clark may also resume soon, he added.
All of these things make easier for travelers to come to Negros Occidental, and Bacolod City, Diaz said.
He also encouraged the 31 local government units of Negros Occidental to celebrate their respective festivals as a way of coming into a new normal, stressing that “we have to live with the virus.”
The Panaad sa Negros, dubbed as mother of all festivals, is slated to be marked by the provincial government April next year, after being cancelled for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)