Iloilo City offers free testing to APORs

Iloilo City government is offering free COVID-19 tests to arriving authorized persons outside of residence (APORs).

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas announced that arriving APORs are encouraged to avail of the free Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests to ensure that the city will remain free from the threats of COVID-19.

“We will strongly encourage those who will enter the city to still take the test we offer for free to ensure the safety of our constituents. For the past few days, we have been recording confirmed cases from our APORs and we ask our fellows to strictly follow the health protocols to avoid further transmission,” he said in his official Facebook page on Monday, February 8.

The city’s stand is in contrast with Resolution No. 98-A issued by the National Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) which allows government officials and personnel who are on official business to have “unimpeded travel to their place of destination and shall not be required to undergo mandatory testing and/or quarantine protocols of the local government unit destination”.

Data from the City Health Office showed that one APOR tested positive for COVID-19 on February 1, two on February 3 and one on February 4.

As of February 8, majority of the COVID-19 cases are local cases involving persons who have traveled outside Iloilo City and the region. The local cases comprise 95% or 4,936 of the total cases in the metro, followed by returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ROFs), and locally stranded individuals, each accounting for 2% of the total cases.

APORs comprised one percent of the total confirmed cases in the metro at 39. (ERS)