By GENALYN KABILING
The government pandemic task force has approved the uniform set of travel protocols for land, air, and sea across the country while keeping strict health protocols in place.
The common travel protocols include the scrapping of the mandatory COVID-19 testing, except when required by the local government unit (LGU) of destination, as well as the need to go on quarantine unless the traveler shows symptoms of COVID-19.
The latest decision on the travel guidelines was made by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) following the recommendation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in coordination with LGUs, to ensure safe and smooth travel across the country. The common protocols, approved in a meeting of the IATF Friday, will take effect immediately, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
Appearing on State television Saturday, Roque said testing will “not be mandatory” for travelers, except if the local government of destination will require testing as a requirement prior to travel, and such shall be limited to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
No traveler shall be required to undergo quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms upon arrival at the place of destination, he added.
Despite the uniform travel protocols, Roque said physical distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and wearing of face masks and face shields, among others, shall be strictly implemented across all settings.
Roque said clinical and exposure assessment shall be strictly implemented in all ports of entry and exit. “Health assessment of passengers, supervised by medical doctors, shall be mandatory upon entry in the port/terminal and exit at point of destination,” he said.
Travelers would no longer be required to get a health certificate, as well as travel authority issued by Joint Task Force COVID-19.
“APORs (Authorized Persons Outside Residence) from national government agencies and their attached agencies must provide their identification card, travel order, and travel itinerary, and must pass symptom screening at ports of entry and exit,” Roque said.