3 S. Africans cleared of Covid-19 in Negros

The three South Africans who arrived in the province on November 26 have tested negative for Covid-19, provincial administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz confirmed on Thursday, December 2.

The first test result released belonged to the South African expatriate confined in a quarantine facility in La Carlota City. Later in the day, the results of the other two South Africans isolated in the quarantine facility in Calatrava town were released.

“They are not showing any symptoms. They are also feeling well, based on the feedback from the company that hired them,” Diaz said.

The three South Africans are consultants of Biopower, an energy firm located in the northern part of Negros island.

Diaz also said seven Negrenses who recently arrived from South Africa are currently in isolation and monitored by the Bureau of Quarantine in Manila. He said that the provincial government was furnished with the list of their names.

“We just hope that they are not carriers of Covid-19 Omicron variant,” Diaz said. “The primary duties and obligation to impose a ban on travelers from red countries lies with the Bureau of Quarantine in Manila.”

The provincial government of Negros Occidental was criticized in social media for the entry of the three South Africans in the province.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson denied claims that the three South African residents slipped through the health protocols of the provincial government.

“It is wrong to say that they slipped through our protocol,” Lacson said.

He explained that those inbound travelers from South Africa entered Manila first, and were accepted by the Quarantine bureau. When the three South Africans arrived in the country, South Africa was still under the “Green” travel restrictions.

“It was only on November 27 that the banning of travelers from South Africa was ordered,” he said.

“When they applied for S-PaSS for entry to the province, they placed Makati City as their point of origin and not South Africa.”

The foreign consultants, however, must still complete their 14-day quarantine, Diaz said.