Davao City brings back RT/PCR test requirement for air travelers

THE  RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) Negative Result requirement for travelers going to Davao City via the Davao International Airport has been re-imposed starting March 23, 2021.  

This was announced by City Tourism Operations Office OIC Generose Tecson on her social media post.

RT-PCR Negative Results with testing done not more than 72 hours before flight will be verified at the Davao International Airport. Meanwhile Saliva based RTPCR results taken not more than 72 hours before flight will be accepted if done by the Philippine Red Cross

For children 12 years old and below, there is no need for COVID-19 testing unless the parents or chaperone tested positive.

It can be noted that early this month, Davao City eased travel requirements for Davao International Airport bound air travelers particularly the need for a negative RTPCR test. The easing of requirements  was based on the directive of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

However, the surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila necessitated the re-imposition of the RT-PCR negative results requirement for Davao bound travelers.

In her recent radio guesting, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said the requirement is part of several measures to prevent the second surge of COVID-19 cases in Davao City.

“We will try to prevent a second wave for Davao City. And gi-unhan na nato na sa implementation sa ordinance nga kinahanglan duna kay 24-72 hours negative RT-PCR result para ka maka check-in sa airport. Ikaduha ana, duna tay ipahigayon nga aggressive surveillance sa atong mga communities so maunhan nato ang mga [Covid-19] clusters. Ang tawag ana nila is Influenza-like Ilness (ILI) symptoms. Bisan pa man wala silay exposure sa isa ka Covid-19 positive case, gina request or padala sila for Covid-19 testing. Next ana is pag review sa atong contact tracing. (...We prioritize the implementation of the ordinance which requires 24-72 hours negative RT PCR result before you can check-in at the airport. Second is  the conduct of aggessive surveillance in our communities so we can detect COVID-19 clusters. They call these Influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms. Even if they they have no exposure to a COVID-19 positive case, they request or submit themselves for COVID-19 testing. Next is reviewing our contact tracing)," the Mayor said. (By Rudolph Ian Alama)