DAVAO CITY — Mayor Sara Z. Duterte has asked agencies in charge of arranging flights for stranded Davao residents not to allow passengers, who show signs of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), to board the aircraft.
The mayor made this call after several returning Davao residents through sweeper flights tested positive for the virus or have manifested symptoms of Covid-19 infection.
“Kinahanglan nato i-screen ang mosulod, and kinahanglan pud nato i-screen ang mogawas because dapat dili makasakay ang COVID-19 positive nga tao and dapat dili pud makasakay ang naga manifest og symptoms (There is a need to screen before boarding because COVID-19 should not be allowed to return home especially those who manifested symptoms) ,” Duterte said in an interview over 87.5 Davao City Disaster Radio.
Duterte said that the city will establish a screening station at the Davao International Airport to ensure that all individuals boarding their flights, when commercial operations return, are free of the disease.
“Dapat duna puy screening pagawas because otherwise katong tanan na kauban niya sa airplane ma quarantine sila, ug mga quarantine pud ang tibuok crew sa airline, and then mobalhin ang positive sa pikas lugar. Maong kinahanglan sa screening sa airport is going in and coming out (we should also have to screen them when they go out of the plane so that his or her co-passengers will be placed under quarantine including the flight crews to ensure that the virus will not be brought to other places. Therefore, there must be a sceeening at the airport), ” she said.
She said that a team from the CHO will man the screening 24/7.
“Gi-ingnan nato ang atoang City Health Office nga to prepare a 24-hour rotational scheme nga mag duty sa airport. Sa new normal, kung sundon ang distancing, kung masunod ang limit sa flights, mga around 2,000 a day ang mogawas (I ordered the City Health to prepare a 24-hour rotational scheme. In the new normal, if we follow the distancing and limited flights, there will be 2,000 passengers a day that will arrive at the airport), ” she said.
In its record last week, four overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) aboard a sweeper flight tested positive for COVID-19. Few days later, two more persons who came home through another sweeper flight failed the health screening conducted by the CHO.
The city government has so far accommodated 2,266 inbound passengers and 3,635 outbound passengers since April 29.(Armando B. Fenequito Jr.)
