BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Despite the threat posed by the Delta variant of the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Negros Occidental provincial government may open the province to leisure travel, according to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz.
But certain conditions would be imposed to ensure the “safety bubble” of the province remains, Diaz said.
The provincial government plans to discuss with local airline companies the possibility of resuming regular passenger flights.
Diaz also hinted of a similar plan for ferry operators.
One of the conditions they are going to forward is for the regular flights or sea trips to only accept vaccinated individuals.
Upon arrival in the province, leisure travelers would still be required to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and quarantine.
Since the province already has two molecular laboratories, Diaz said the results could be released within 24 hours.
If the traveler is negative for COVID-19, they may be allowed to roam around the province, while those who test positive would be transferred to a quarantine facility.
The proposal is also becoming more feasible especially as the National Inter-Agency Task Force plans to roll-out the digital vaccination ID, which would enable lesser restrictions for fully vaccinated travelers, Diaz said.
“Subong pa lang gani, may talks na kami na maka-accommodate sang ‘vaccinated flights’ nga ang tanan nga pasahero nabakunahan na, barato ang plete, kag kamo lang gid nga nabakunahan ang maka-sakay, so ang risk level indi na taas, pero of course, ara gyapon ang risk,” said Diaz.
Earlier this year, the provincial government planned a meeting with three major airline companies serving the province for vaccinated-only flights, but the plan was shelved after several issues surfaced such as the new variants of COVID-19 and concerns that the vaccination cards being issued by local government units could easily be faked./PN
