Puerto Galera accepts fully vaccinated tourists, offers others free antigen testing

Tourists who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 would no longer need to present a negative swab test result when visiting Puerto Galera, the resort town's municipal administrator said on Monday.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, municipal administrator Carmela Datinguinoo said they would offer free antigen tests to those who have yet to be vaccinated or have received only their first dose.

“Kapag fully vaccinated na po ang aming mga turista hindi na po kailangan ng RT-PCR,” she said.

(If the tourists are fully vaccinated, there is no need to undergo an RT-PCR test.)

The free antigen tests would be provided at the Batangas City Grand Terminal.

Puerto Galera residents are also covered by the municipal government's free antigen tests, according to Datinguinoo.

An average of 1,000 tourists daily were reported in Puerto Galera.

As of Monday, Puerto Galera had five active COVID-19 cases. According to Datinguinoo, 100% of economic frontliners in the town, including tourism workers, were fully vaccinated. — DVM, GMA News