DAVAO CITY — Passengers entering Davao City via land, sea, and air starting Tuesday, Nov. 16 do not need to secure a negative RT-PCR test results prior to their entry after the City Government of Davao lifted the requirement on Monday, Nov. 15.
The City Government issued Executive Order No. 66 Series of 2021 which provides for the removal of the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) result requirement for those entering the city.
"All travelers entering Davao City by land and all arriving domestic travelers by sea and air shall no longer be required to present their 24 to 71-hour negative RT-PCR test results," the EO reads.
"No document shall be required for entry into Davao City, except for security checks that may be required by the AFP and PNP personnel, for the purposes of anti-crime, anti- illegal drugs, and anti-terrorism operations," it added.
Meanwhile, passengers by international air travel arriving in the city "including those international passengers arriving through connecting domestic flights" are required to "comply with the requirements and guidelines provided by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID)."
City Mayor Sara Duterte said there is a continuing downtrend of COVID-19 cases in the city.
"Looking good ang mga hospitals nato sa pagkakaron (Our hospitals are doing good)," the mayor said during the Special Hour with Mayor Inday Sara Duterte radio program.
Duterte added that there is only one hospital here which utilizes its intensive care unit for COVID-19 cases. She said the rest of the cases are admitted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
"I think it is safe to say that it will be a merry Christmas in Davao City," she added.
As of Monday, the city recorded 10 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of active cases in the city to 410.
Meanwhile, the city recorded 49 recoveries and one death based on the data from the Department of Health Davao Center for Health Development.