ANTIQUE – Beginning Nov. 1, people fully-vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) won’t be required to undergo reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test with negative result as a precondition to entering Antique province.
According to the Antique Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force, only non-vaccinated or partially-vaccinated people will be required to present negative RT-PCR test results.
All that fully-vaccinated people have to present are their vaccination cards or certificates, permit from the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) and notice of coordination from the local government unit of their destination.
These fully-vaccinated people may either be returning residents or locally stranded individuals, authorized persons outside residence (APORs), travelers, tourists, and even returning overseas Filipino (ROFs) workers.
Antiqueños returning to their home-province have long been complaining of the RT-PCR requirement. They considered this very cumbersome and an additional expense.
Doing away with the RT-PCR test requirement is seen to encourage more people to return to Antique, including tourists and investors. This is hoped to enliven the province’s economy stymied by the coronavirus pandemic since last year.
Department of Health – Region 6 data as of Oct. 25 showed Antique with 102,316 residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — this is 23.66 percent of the target eligible population of 432,452./PN
