(Eagle News) – The government has allowed locally stranded individuals (LSIs) from Region 6 or Western Visayas to return to their provinces, provided that they are of good health and will undergo the required 14-day quarantine period.
Malacanang announced this on Thursday, Sept. 17, after the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the “partial lifting of the temporary suspension of inbound travel by returning residents to Region VI.”
This is contained in IATF Resolution no. 71 dated Sept. 15.
“Therefore, the temporary suspension of inbound travel of returning residents in the provinces of Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Antique, including Iloilo City, in Region VI, is hereby lifted,” the reolution said.
“Ano pong ibig sabbhin nito? Ang mga locally stranded individuals ay puede nang umuwi sa kanilang mga lugar na nabanggit. Siguraduhin lamang na malusog ang katawan at kasama ang pag-ka-quarantine ng 14 na araw sa mga probinsya bilang bahagi ng minimum public health standards,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Malacanang press briefing on Thursday, Sept. 17.
The IATF also resolved that “any requests henceforth for the imposition, extension, and lifting of moratorium of local government units shall hereby be decided upon by their respective Regional Inter-Agency Task Force and shall be enforced by the National Task Force.”
Roque said that this is the “process flow” to be followed for this.
The suspension of the repatriation of LSIs to parts of the Visayas region was first done in late June following the request of several local government units which noted a spike in COVID-19 cases following the arrival of returning residents.
(Eagle News Service)