ILOILO – The provincial government is not scrapping the negative swab test result required of inbound travelers from outside Western Visayas.
The swabbing must also be done not more than 72 hours prior to travel.
“What we are doing actually is just reducing the risk as much as we can. We want the airport and the airplane to be a safer place for our returning residents,” said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. yesterday.
The requirement stands until Feb. 15 as per Executive Orders No.040 and 040-A, series of 2022, signed by Defensor placing the province under Alert Level 3.
As of Feb. 8, Iloilo province had 6,324 active cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The death toll, on the other hand, stood at 1,155.
Meantime, the city government of Iloilo scrapped its swab-upon-arrival requirement for all fully vaccinated travelers effective Feb. 9.
“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 has been classified under Alert Level 3 until February 15. (PNA/PN)
