DAVAO CITY – The Real-Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing of arriving passengers at the Davao International Airport (DIA) for free has been suspended.
The RT-PCR, considered as the gold standard for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing, is one of the requirements of Davao City for arriving passengers coming from different regions.
City Tourism Operation Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson said that the city is redirecting its resources to address the local COVID-19 transmission since the city has the highest number of cases, with 1,376 as of January 13.
Aside from the 1,376 active cases, the city also recorded 8,110 recoveries and 468 deaths from the overall total of 9,954 confirmed positive cases since 2020.
“We will resume the testing once the Los Amigos COVID-19 Laboratory starts its operation,” Tecson said. She urged other local government units to pick up their locally stranded individuals (LSI) at the airport.
Tecson said non-Davao City flight passengers could still exit at the Davao airport even without the RT-PCR negative test as long as they have the necessary documents and their respective local government will fetch them upon arrival.
She also said that arriving passengers with negative RT-PCR tests taken within 24 to 72 hours before their scheduled flights to the city are prioritized for exit from the airport after checking their health declaration forms (HDFs).
For the Davao City residents without negative RT-PCR test results, Tecson said their office will check the other required documents. A 14-day home quarantine is mandatory.