To create more tourism bubbles, cities should be able to effectively manage their COVID-19 cases while being open to accepting tourists, an official of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 said Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar Vince Dizon in a press briefing used Baguio City as an example of a model city which should be followed by others.
"Ngayon dapat ma-replicate natin yan (Now we should replicate that) and we are very open to talking to other areas throughout the country, especially yung ating mga (our) tourist spots tulad ng (like) Boracay, Bohol, Palawan para magcreate tayo nitong mga bubble na ito (to create tourism bubble),” Dizon said.
He said that he was recently at the city, together with Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Presidential spokesman Harry Roque and saw that it was almost normal in the country's summer capital.
“Kaya lang ang makikita natin dun na pansin na pansin ay sumusunod ang mga tao sa mga rules ng Baguio City lalo sa minimum health standards wala kang makikita na di nakasuot ng mask wala kang makikita na di naka face shield (What we did not fail to notice are residents following the rules of Baguio City, especially the minimum health standards. You will not see anyone without masks or face shields),” Dizon added.
Meanwhile, awaiting for the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), Dizon said that the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) bubble will be an example of showing how to effectively control an area to ensure that everything done there will be safe.