Duque: LGUs have option to require RT-PCR tests from incoming travelers

It is up to individual local government units whether or not to require negative RT-PCR tests for individuals entering their respective jurisdictions, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on Thursday night.

Duque adverted to the decision reached by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases after some LGUs expressed concern over the relaxing of border controls, with the national government allowing individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to present vaccination cards.

"The final agreement there is to give the LGUs the option... to require RT-PCR testing. So 'yun. That's the clarification that has  been made," Duque said after the arrival of 1.1 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines versus COVID-19.

"They will make their own risk assessment being the local The IATF is very clear... They can require depending on the option they wish to exercise," he added.

For LGUs who will only require vaccination cards, Duque said the Department of Information and Communication Technology was working on "digital vaccine certification."

He said the DICT committed to encode and upload 90 percent of the total vaccinated individuals by July 31.

Malacañang on Thursday justified the waiving of negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test result as a requirement for domestic tourists, saying the negative test was not a full guarantee of being COVID-19 free.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque referred to the government’s decision of easing border restrictions for fully vaccinated domestic tourists by requiring them to present their vaccination card instead of a negative RT-PCR test result.

“Ang siyensiya naman po, 'pag nabakunahan na, hindi ka na magkakasakit ng malala, napakaliit na ng tsansa na makapanghawa, although meron pa rin,” Roque said.

“Wala naman talagang 100% guarantee. Even if you test negative with RT-PCR, [there are cases where ] the virus could not be immediately captured, so there is no 100% guarantee in a pandemic,” he added. —NB, GMA News