This Week in Northern Luzon (November 27 to December 3, 2021)

Ilocos Norte is no longer in strict lockdown since it shifted under Alert Level 2 from November 13 until November 30. Under this alert level, residents can now head to leisure establishments like cinemas, museums, sports venues, amusement shops, personal care areas, and gyms. Religious places and the likes are also now allowed. These establishments have a limited capacity of 50% indoor and 60% outdoor. Previous lockdown curfew remains 11:00PM to 4:00AM [1]

To protect the health of residents in the city, the city’s local government and public information office noted that only vaccinated PUV drivers are allowed to ply Baguio City’s routes. This rule applies to drivers who have received their first dose. Exemptions also include cargo vehicles for essential and non-essential goods [2].

Out of 1,200 registered and accredited accommodations in Baguio City, only 400 are operational again since the city reopened to tourists last year. According to City Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo, the remaining 800 closed establishments were small businesses that were heavily hit by the lockdowns due to the pandemic [3].

Currently, Baguio City allows 2,000 tourists daily since it reopened to non-essential travels last October 25.

Ilocos Norte eased its travel and transportation protocols for fully vaccinated tourists. Part of the changes in restriction includes the removal of negative RT-PCR test results as travel requirements [5]. The changes in travel in the area will be effective starting December 1. According to Ilocos Norte’s tourism office, this rule applies to fully vaccinated tourists from Alert Levels 1 to 3 areas. Unvaccinated individuals coming from Alert Level 4 will need to show a negative RT-PCR test result taken at least 72 hours before their arrival in the area.

Tourists are also recommended to register at https://ilocosnorte.ph. They should also present valid IDs and unique QR codes from the website; they should book from any DOT-accredited accommodation.

Baguio City’s COVID-19 vaccination statistics last November 14 recorded over 257,805 vaccinated individuals in the area—212,390 of these received their full dose. Due to this, Baguio City has accomplished 91.74 percent of its target eligible adult population of 281,000 [5]. As for juvenile vaccination, about 20,033 pediatric patients ages 12 to 17 years old were vaccinated out of their target of 42,811.

Visit Yoorekka Magazine for more travel and COVID-19 updates and guidelines in Baguio and Ilocos!