66 NegOcc Residents Stranded in Cebu, Panay Return Home

Some 66 Negrense residents stranded in Cebu and Panay returned to Negros Occidental over the weekend through the assistance of the provincial government.

These include 41 construction workers from Iloilo; a family of nine from Boracay Island in Aklan; and 16 others from Samoan town in Cebu.

Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, said Saturday those who arrived in the province are immediately brought to the “healing centers” set up by the provincial government to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine.

The two groups who traveled from Panay arrived at the Bredco port in Bacolod City. They are staying in Mambukal Resort in Murcia town for the next two weeks.

The 16 Negrenses from Cebu passed through Negros Oriental and entered Negros Occidental via Kabankalan City in the south. They are now under quarantine at the patient care center located in the housing site of E.B. Magalona town.

Upon their arrival at the two centers, they were interviewed by health personnel and took a rapid test for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“We have to let them undergo the procedure as a precautionary measure,” Caelian said.

Last Tuesday, 35 Negrense overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) also arrived in Escalante City from Tabuelan town in Cebu.

The group included 20 residents of various towns and cities, as well as 15 from Bacolod City. They are also undergoing a 14-day quarantine at the center in E.B. Magalona.

The Negros Occidental provincial government has set up hotlines and online channels to assist its residents still stranded in other places.

As of Saturday afternoon, a total of 721 individuals from various places, including those in Metro Manila, have registered for return to Negros Occidental. (PNA)