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Friday, June 18, 2021

Cebu told to follow IATF arrival protocols

CEBU - President Rodrigo Duterte said Cebu province must abide by the arrival protocols set by the national government’s Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID), the Palace spokesman said.

Spokesman Harry Roque made the announcement during a virtual presser after MalacaƱang’s order to divert all international flights from Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) in Cebu to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City ended on June 12.

“From the Office of the Executive Secretary, the President has decided that the IATF protocols must be implemented by the Cebu Province,” Roque said.

The existing IATF-MEID rules mandate all arriving passengers, including those who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, to stay in a quarantine facility for 10 days and observe home quarantine for another four days. Incoming travellers are also required to take an RT-PCR on the 7th day of their quarantine. 

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea initially issued a memorandum directing the diversion of international flights from MCIA to NAIA from May 29 to June 5 to ensure the proper implementation of the testing and quarantine protocols imposed on returning Filipinos in the province. But Medialdea extended this until June 12.

“The last extension was just a preparation for full implementation of that decision. So, the President has also considered the DOH (Department of Health) critique and has decided that Cebu Province must abide with the IATF arrival protocols,” Roque said.

Duterte met with Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia at MalacaƱang Palace last month to reconcile the IATF-MEID and the province’s different protocols against Covid-19. Roque said Cebu has amended its ordinance on arriving OFWs to include RT-PCR test upon arrival and after a week.

“It has always been the protocol which deviates from the IATF protocol that in Cebu arriving passengers are given PCR upon arrival and then—on the seventh but if they test negative on the third day then they are sent for home quarantine,” Roque said, adding, the IATF-MEID policy on arriving OFWs “remains that it must be followed nationwide.” (Jelly Musico)

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