Baguio allows entry of fully vaccinated travelers sans COVID-19 test result

Tourists with complete vaccination can now enter Baguio City without carrying a negative COVID-19 test result as the national government eased travel protocols for fully inoculated Filipinos, Baguio City government said on Monday.

In a Facebook post, Baguio Tourism announced that a legitimate vaccination card or certificate can be an alternative to negative swab test results.

However, fully vaccinated travelers must still pre-register at visita.baguio.gov.ph; secure a QR-coded Tourist Pass; and undergo a mandatory triage upon arrival.

The city government, likewise, reminded fully vaccinated individuals to still observe minimum health standards to ensure protection from the severe viral ailment.

According to recent national government protocols, a person is fully vaccinated if it has been two weeks or more since he or she received the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, and two weeks or more since receiving a single-dose COVID-19 jab. 

In an interview over Super Radyo dzBB, Tourism chief Bernadette Romulo Puyat said Baguio City is so far the only local government unit that allowed vaccine certificates or cards as an alternative to testing after it inoculated less than half of its population.

"For example ang Baguio City dahil 40% ng kanilang residents na vaccinated pwede na sila tumanggap ng fully vaccinated na hindi na kailangan mag-RT-PCR," she said.

(Baguio City already vaccinated 40% of its residents, they can now accept fully vaccinated people without the RT-PCR test.)

Despite the Inter Agency Task Force resolution allowing full vaccination as an alternative to testing, Puyat said it will still be up to the LGU if they will follow this new IATF rule for fully-vaccinated individuals.

As for other LGUs, Puyat said some are still hesitant to implement the alternative due to low vaccine recipients among their residents.

In Boracay, Puyat said only 4.5% of its residents are inoculated. She said they will send more vaccines to Boracay Island, one of the top tourist destinations in the country. —Consuelo Marquez/LDF/KG, GMA News