Border controls eyed anew in province

January 3, 2022

The strict reimposition of border controls in Negros Occidental is being considered.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson today said that the provincial government may reimpose strict border controls if the COVID cases in Metro Manila continue to go up.

Lacson also said that with or without the Omicron variant, the vaccination campaign should be sped up, although he expressed doubt that the province will be able to attain herd immunity this month.

The governor urged everyone to continue observing minimum health protocols, even though the number of COVID cases in the province is going down.

“The number is good, but that is before Omicron. We will see what happens,” Lacson said.

In a statement on December 31,2021, the Department of Health also said “there is a high probability of exponential growth with continued decreased adherence to MPHS [minimum public health standards] and the detection of local cases with Omicron variant.”

Because of this, the national government will step up restrictions over fears over the Omicron variant.

Malacañang put the National Capital Region under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to January 15, 2022.

The heightened alert level is in response to an increase in cases of COVID-19 and the detection of three local cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in the Philippines.* (DGB)