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This Week in Boracay and Iloilo (March 21 to 27, 2021)

Boracay authorities recommend the use of allow saliva tests for tourists.

By: Shanice Reyes | March 21, 2021
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Boracay, Iloilo, COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, frontliners, vaccine, health workers, global news, healthcare workers, medical frontliners, medical workers, saliva test, health news

The vaccination plan in the province of Guimaras includes prioritizing its medical frontliners and also encouraging the community to get inoculated. Meanwhile, Iloilo City calls on the regional office of the Department of Health for urgency in distributing COVID-19 vaccines to hospitals. For travel updates, Boracay stakeholders persuade the task force to implement saliva tests as an alternative requirement for inbound island tourists. Meanwhile around the world, countries have suspended the use of AstraZeneca vaccines as concerns arise.


Health News


DOH-6 allocates vaccines in Iloilo City

The COVID-19 vaccines are being allocated properly to medical workers in Iloilo City, according to the Department of Health in Wester Visayas (DOH-6) after being urged by the city mayor to hasten the distribution. Mayor Jerry Treñas appealed to the DOH-6 to have urgency in vaccine distribution to six referral hospitals.

Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, spokesperson of DOH-6 explained that it took the department three days to designate and distribute 16,880 doses of Sinovac vaccines to the hospitals. She also stressed that the distribution is being done in phases based on the critical population and priority group of an area [1].



Healthcare workers vaccinated in Guimaras

Last March 12, 2021, a hundred healthcare workers in the Province of Guimaras were vaccinated against COVID-19. These health workers are from Buenavista Emergency Hospital, Dr. Catalino Gallego Provincial Hospital, and Nueva Valencia District Hospital [2]. The first person inoculated in the province was Ruffa Geraldoy, a medical technologist of Nueva Valencia District Hospital who was willing to be vaccinated regardless of the vaccine brand. She encouraged her fellow frontliners to get vaccinated so that more people may reap the benefits of the vaccine. By the same token, Congresswoman Ma. Lucille L. Nava also challenges the province’s frontliners to be vaccinated to put an end to this pandemic.


Travel Updates


Boracay Tourists still required to use Aklan QR Code and S-Pass

Apart from S-Pass, a travel management system developed for contact tracing, Boracay tourists are still urged to use the Aklan QR Code. Tourists coming to the world-famous island must register for a QR code at Aklan’s website (www.aklan.gov.ph). Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores noted that the QR Code provided convenience to the province as it maintains its local management system [3].

Boracay stakeholders persuade IATF to allow saliva test for tourists

While saliva tests are now approved as a requirement for inbound travelers entering the province of Aklan, Boracay stakeholders are persuading the local government and agencies to use these tests in the island as well. To attract more tourists to Boracay Island, the stakeholders anticipate a positive response from the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force and the National Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease.



Saliva tests cost PhP2,00 and can give results in about three to four hours only. As of writing, the island’s border still requires tourists to obtain a negative swab test not more than 72 hours before their arrival to Boracay Island [4].


Global News: Various nations halt the use of AstraZeneca vaccines over concerns


Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland, Germany, France, Thailand, the Netherlands, and more countries have suspended the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines over concerns about its possible side effect, namely reports of blood clotting in recipients. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization emphasized that there is no established link between the doses and the blood clotting and still advocates for the use of the vaccine [5].


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


All details and information in this article are true and accurate as of the publication date. While we are doing our utmost effort to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the condition surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be unpredictable and the situation develops rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since this article was published. For the latest advice, visit DOH and your LGU's official websites.



Sources:
[1] http://bit.ly/2Nur510
[2] http://bit.ly/38Y0S2B
[3] http://bit.ly/2NwEYfj
[4] http://bit.ly/3s7Fqji
[5] https://bit.ly/3s7Fqji
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About Shanice Reyes
Shanice Reyes writes to buy herself good coffee and bike parts. When she's not writing, you can find her playing Ultimate Frisbee, traveling to new places, or hanging out with her dogs and tarantulas. Though she has an irrational fear of heights, she'd love to try sky-diving one day.
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Disclaimer: All articles in the Consumers Magazine of Yoorekka are for general information and entertainment purposes only. Although careful research has been made in writing them, Yoorekka does not make any warranty about the completeness and accuracy of all information presented in our articles. Our content is not intended to be used in place of legal, medical, or any professional advice.
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