IATF okays test for travelers but nixes flight moratorium

By Joseph B.A. Marzan and ERS

 

The national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) approved the proposal of Western Visayas leaders to require travelers to undergo coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing prior to their trip to the region.

But the task force denied Iloilo executives’ request for a moratorium on all trips from some areas in the country.

Governors of the region’s six provinces and mayors of the two highly urbanized cities on Friday finalized their request to require a negative result for COVID-19 via Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing at least 72 hours before the scheduled trip to any point in the region.

The proposal was initially approved last March 15, 2021 during a Zoom meeting of the local chief executives and the regional IATF-MEID.

While the initial regulation exempted Authorized Persons Outside their Residence (APOR) from the testing requirements, an unnumbered executive order released by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Friday now include them.

Treñas pushed the moratorium on travel to the city and province of Iloilo via social media last Saturday.

It was supposed to ban travel from three regions in the country with a high concentration of confirmed COVID-19 cases, including the National Capital Region, Region 4-A (CALABARZON), and Region 7 (Central Visayas).

In a statement on Sunday, Treñas confirmed that he had spoken to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, who told him about the two IATF-MEID decisions.

“I just talked with Sec. Galvez. The IATF took up the request of Region 6 for the RT-PCR test prior to the flight and the trip, and they approved it. The IATF also considered the request of Iloilo Province and City for a moratorium for flights and trips from affected areas, and denied the request,” said Treñas in a statement posted on the city government’s official Facebook page.

The mayor also announced that the city will accept antigen and saliva tests from Metro Manila in lieu of the RT-PCR test as long as the test was conducted within three days upon arrival.

“It was decided that all persons traveling to Region 6 must have 72 hours negative RT-PCR test prior to travel, whether returning residents, returning OFW (overseas Filipino worker) or APOR (Authorized Person Outside of Residence). This will be up to April 10 unless sooner revoked by the local government units if the circumstances warrant,” Treñas.

Present during the virtual meeting were governors and mayors in the region, Western Visayas Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Health (DOH), and Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III.

Meanwhile, the city and province of Iloilo have reiterated the strict implementation of health protocols, with law enforcement authorities stationed to remind people to wear masks, observe physical distancing, and wash and sanitize their hands.

The city government released a summary by the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) stating that from March 14 to 20, 2021, they have fined 12 people for not wearing face shields, 598 for not wearing face masks, and 15 people for not observing social distancing.