By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Councilor Cindy Rojas said 52 more Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) from Manila arrived at the BREDCO port here Tuesday night.
Rojas, head of the city task force attending to LSIs, said the City government has facilitated the quarantine of the 52 LSIs who were among the 455 passengers on board St. Michael of Archangel of 2GO.
The remaining LSIs were 400 residents of Negros Occidental, while three are Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APORs) from the PNP, she said.
Rojas said these LSIs were given free sea passage back to Bacolod through Malacañang’s “Hatid Tulong” initiative.
The “Hatid Tulong” program is a government initiative to provide transportation intended to help stranded individuals affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions to return to their provinces.
Attending to the Bacolodnon LSIs upon their disembarkation were representatives of the City Mayor’s Office (CMO), City Health Office (CHO), City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), General Services Office (GSO), Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Rojas said that CDRRMO personnel immediately disinfected their bags and luggage upon disembarkation.
The Bacolodnon LSIs were picked up by two buses of the city government, and immediately brought to one of the quarantine facilities of the city.
Since they arrived late Tuesday evening, all “Hatid Tulong” beneficiaries were subjected to swab test for COVID-19 Wednesday.
“They will be sent home as soon as their negative RT-PCR test results are released. If this happens before they finish the mandatory 14-day quarantine at the city’s facility, they will be required to finish the remainder of that quarantine period under strict home quarantine,” Rojas said.
DILG secretary Eduardo Año had said that LSIs without plane or ship bookings are place on the priority list under the “Hatid Tulong” initiative.
