This Week in Boracay and Iloilo (November 29 to December 5, 2020)

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is poised to implement longer curfew hours for individuals below 18 years old, unless accompanied by their parents. The mayor’s purpose for the extension is to limit the non-essential movement of minors in Iloilo City [1]. The curfew hours for minors will start at 8:00 PM; the City Legal also instructed to draft an Executive Order on this policy, and increased police activity in public areas was also ordered [2]. The existing curfew hours for minors in Iloilo City are from 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM.

The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Malay, Aklan, is studying the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) proposal on utilizing saliva-based COVID-19 tests for incoming travelers to Boracay Island. As of November 25, incoming guests to the famous island are required to have negative results on their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test before entering.

The DOT’s proposal, which involves saliva-based tests that do not require traditional reagents and specially-designed equipment, is expected to encourage more visitors to the island, according to SB member Maylynn Aguirre-Graf. She explained that the high cost of the RT-PCR tests, which cost PhP3,600 at its cheapest, discourages tourists from visiting the island. However, a saliva-based test that costs less at around PhP2,700 with results obtained within less than two hours is expected to attract more tourists [3].

In a memorandum of agreement signed between the city government of Roxas City, Iloilo and private hospitals last November 23, 2020, private hospitals can now acquire quicker test results from the laboratory and can act immediately on confirmed cases. Under the memo, private hospitals in the city can now avail services from Roxas City Diagnostic and Laboratory Center related to RT-PCR tests. The mayor also added that the RT-PCR tests are free for qualified and eligible persons, but tourists and those who want to be tested for employment purposes have to pay the testing fee of PhP4,000 [4].

As part of the Iloilo City Government’s efforts to intensify COVID-19 testing, the newly-opened Uswag Iloilo City Molecular Laboratory at Alternative Learning System (ALS) building has begun processing swab samples. The laboratory in Molo district can process up to 400 specimens per day, with results released within two days [5].

Go to Yoorekka for more COVID-19 updates in Boracay and Iloilo.