BORACAY – To further energize the travel and tourism industry, this island resort may start welcoming back international tourists by the first quarter of 2021.
Boracay managed to keep the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at bay with stringent pandemic safety protocols and interventions, according to Dr. Leslie Ann Luces, Aklan provincial health officer.
“Boracay is ready to accept foreign tourists. There are no active COVID-19 cases in the island as of Dec. 7,” she said during the “Together as One” webinar on Dec. 9 organized by the Department of Tourism pitching Boracay to Vietnamese travel and tour operators.
Vietnam is ranked No. 10 among 53 most pandemic-resilient economies identified by Bloomberg.
Luces said health authorities and the local government unit instituted COVID-19 prevention, tracing, quarantine, testing, and treatment protocols.
COVID-19 hotline 152 was established to monitor persons with signs and symptoms of coronavirus.
Health and safety officers of dive shops, hotels and restaurants were trained to facilitate the COVID-19 safety plan.
Contact tracers were deployed to assess people who came in contact with infected persons.
All persons are required to scan their quick response (QR) codes to enter restaurants and hotels.
Although the Philippines is not inclined to accept foreign tourists for now, Boracay Island has widely engaged majority of the public and domestic tourists in its quarantine policies and education information campaigns on minimum health standards.
Local hospitals are also ready to face the unique challenges of the pandemic.
The Dr. Rafael S. Tumbokon Memorial Hospital (DRSTMH) in Kalibo, Aklan – the designated referral facility for COVID-19 patients – has 17 intensive care unit beds and 32 COVD ward hospital beds.
The molecular laboratory at DRSTMH is also equipped with three reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) machines with two automated Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) extractor machines for COVID-
19 testing.
Currently, Aklan has 25 rooms in the provincial quarantine facility in Kalibo and around 135 rooms in provincial government-rented hotels to accommodate COVID-19 cases./PN
