By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said Tuesday that the programs and projects of the provincial government are not affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 crisis.
Diaz said that for instance, funds for rice assistance to the different cities and municipalities in the province came from the grants and donations under the office of the governor.
He also said that the provincial government has just completed the third wave of distribution of rice assistance to the local government units (LGUs).
Aside from the rice assistance, the provincial government allocated P5 million each to EB Magalona town and Cadiz City where the two quarantine centers of the province are located.
Another P2.5 million was allocated for the food of Negrenses, nurses, policemen, and utility workers who are under quarantine.
These came from the extra Internal Revenue Allotment of the province provided by the national government to all LGUs in the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson said the provincial government will earmark P100 million for the Infectious Disease Building at the Teresita Lopez Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Silay City.
The fund will also come from the extra IRA of the provincial government.
“We will expand the building, designing it in such a way that if another pandemic occurs, we can close a certain part of the hospital to cater to whatever virus we may face in the future,” he said.
The governor said expanding the TLJPH is necessary to prepare the hospital for possible pandemics in the future.
Diaz added that after the hospital gained experience in treating a COVID-19 positive patient, they saw the need for a separate building which would be designated as an Infectious Diseases building.
With the new building in place, they would be able to separate infectious individuals from the other patients, thereby limiting and even possibly eliminating transmissions.
The Infectious Diseases wing will have its own emergency room, operating room, and delivery room.
“In this time of [Covid-19], we cannot mix these people with our regular patients,” Diaz said.
