ILOILO – Good news to fully-vaccinated travelers from outside Western Visayas seeking to enter this province – they are no longer required to undergo reverse transcription – polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test or present their negative test results for coronavirus.
This major easing of travel restriction – which took effect yesterday – aims to rejuvenate the local economy stymied by two years of pandemic.
However, according to Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. in Executive Order No. 40-B, the unvaccinated and those not yet fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still required to undergo RT-PCR test not more than 72 hours before traveling and submit their negative swab results – except the pediatric age group below five years old.
Inbound travelers (returning residents and non-residents) who are fully vaccinated shall only be required to present their COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
Meantime, with the extension of the Alert Level 3 classification in the province, Defensor in a separate EO also extended the implementation of liquor ban in high-risk establishments as a COVID-19 surge management measure until Feb. 28.
As of the Feb. 15 report of the Provincial Health Office, the province had 6,986 active COVID-19 cases and a death toll of 1,179 deaths.
In scrapping the RT-PCR test requirement, Defensor took cue from the city government of Iloilo which scrapped such effective Feb. 9 yet.
“Fully vaccinated individuals arriving in Iloilo City are no longer mandated to submit themselves to a NPS / OPS / RT-PCR (nasopharyngeal / oropharyngeal /reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) testing upon arrival, and will not also be required to undergo quarantine,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
However, partially and unvaccinated individuals still have to undergo quarantine upon arrival and submit to the RT-PCR test after three days of quarantine at the USWAG Molecular Laboratory without cost.
Partially and unvaccinated individuals from countries classified as “Red” also need to complete their 14-day quarantine and undergo a swab test without cost five days from the day of arrival.
Iloilo city and province and the island province of Guimaras remain under Alert Level 3 until Feb. 28, according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, citing the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID).
On the other hand, five areas in Western Visayas shifted to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 on Feb. 16 until the end of the month – Negros Occidental, Bacolod City, Aklan, Antique, and Capiz – due to dwindling COVID-19 infections. (PNA/PN)
