Sea trips...

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Task Force ( RTF) Against COVID- 19. She said local chief executives (LCEs) in the region have not sought for another extension on the ban.

Well, except for Roxas City, Ferrer told “pending request

Panay News. from Roxas City. They are seeking

May ara kita for another 10-day [extension of moratorium] ila… All inbound  travelers, meaning

para didto sa all returning residents, APORs and ROFs (returning overseas Filipinos) from ‘NCR Plus’ only,” Ferrer said.

The local government of Roxas City sent a letter of request on April 16, “and gin- endorse National lnter-Agency

naman Task Force [for the Management naton ini sa of Emerging Infectious Diseases] for approval.”

Pending IATF nod, Ferrer said Western Visayas will receive inbound travelers based on the directive of Office of Civil Defense Region 6 director Jose Roberto Nuñez who also chairs the RTF COVID-19  in the region.

“ma- lift (moratorium), meaning included Bwas na sa tanan Roxas City inbound travelers. ang sa magabaton approval from IATF, then that’s sang Kon may the time i- implement na extension ila,” the nga na spokesperson explained. naton ang sa

Why did Roxas City seek another extension?

Coronavirus cases have been on the rise there, Ferrer said, with the Roxas City government noting most of the cases had travel history from the “NCR Plus” areas.

Also, the city would like to decongest its quarantine facilities due to the influx of persons being isolated there.

To note, LCEs in Western Visayas initially requested for a ban on the entry of travelers from the “NCR Plus” and other areas on April 3 to 10 but was later extended (April 13 to 19).

Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo hit Region 6, particularly Bacolod City and Negros Occidental,” said

City sent the letter of request on behalf of all LCEs in Western Visayas to vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez and Department of Interior and Local Government undersecretary Epimaco Densing III.

With the resumption of flights and sea trips, Ferrer is advising all returning residents and APORs to coordinate with their concerned local government units for a swift and safe travel.

The moratorium is pursuant to the national Inter- Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 108 imposing a temporary ban on inbound travel to Western Visayas from NCR and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, and the cities of Cebu and Davao.

The travel ban covers all returning residents, APOR and non- essential travelers into Western Visayas.

Overseas Filipino workers, however, are allowed to enter the region./ Of the 4,374 total active cases

PN in the region, almost half or 2,053 came from Negros Occidental, 668 from Bacolod City, 567 from Antique, 396 from Iloilo province, 309 from Iloilo City, 208 from Aklan, 160 from Capiz, and 13 from Guimaras. “Recently

Capiz… symptomatic and even severe cases,” Juanico noted.

Cases in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental, meanwhile, are also on the rise.

“Bacolod although

peak compared to last year’s cases,

number and without intervention, these might further increase,” Juanico explained.

Of the eight provinces and highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas, Juanico noted, only Iloilo City has maintained/sustained its number of cases “at the minimum level”./