By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – Councilor Cindy Rojas said that an Information Desk has been set up at the BREDCO port to keep records of returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and locally stranded individuals (LSI).
The returnees are asked to fill out a health declaration form with their names and exact address to keep track of their health history and for contact-tracing purposes amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Rojas, chair of the Action Team on Non-OFW returning residents, said that the desk aims to address the large number of Locally Stranded Individuals who have arrived and will arrive at the seaports of Bacolod.
The matter was taken up during an emergency meeting presided by Mayor Evelio Leonardia this week.
Residents who are returning to the city have to follow the protocols established by the city government.
“They will be sent home to undergo home quarantine and we will make sure the barangays will be informed,” Rojas further said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Commander Jansen Benjamin, head of the Philippine Coast Guard in Negros Occidental, said that the PCG is tasked to check the documents of passengers from Iloilo City.
He said that stranded individuals from areas outside Region VI are required to present a travel authority and medical certificate and will undergo a14-day quarantine in the city’s facility and a swab test upon arrival.
On the other hand, returnees from areas within Region VI are only required to present a travel authority and medical certificate and will undergo home quarantine to be monitored by their respective barangays.
Based on the protocols, OFWs are required to present travel authority, quarantine certificate, negative RT-PCR test, and will also undergo a14-day quarantine and a repeat swab test.
The same protocols apply for returning Bacolod residents who will arrive via air travel at Bacolod-Silay Airport.
“Before the vessels depart, the coast guard also conducts an actual headcount and makes sure social distancing is observed,” Benjamin added.
To avoid long queues, Bacolod City Health Officer Ma. Carmela Gensoli said they are issuing control numbers that indicate the specific day and time for their clients to secure medical clearance to travel.
Gensoli also said that since the CHO X-ray Section cannot accommodate a big number of clients, those who will need an X-ray are advised to secure their results from private medical laboratories before going to CHO.
