2,000 tourism workers in Ilocos Norte to get free swab tests

LAOAG CITY –– At least 2,000 tourism workers in Ilocos Norte would be given free swab tests for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to pump up the province’s tourism industry that was hit hard by the pandemic, officials said on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Ilocos Norte tourism officer Aianree Raquel said the plan is part of the provincial government’s efforts to ensure that its tourism industry is safe to welcome guests.

The free swab testing will benefit tour-guides, driver-guides, and hotel and restaurant workers accredited by the Department of Tourism and the provincial government.

It will roll out this week in time for the familiarization visit of some members of the Philippine Tour Operators Association in the province this weekend.

Raquel said the state-run Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City would be the COVID-19 testing center for the tourism workers.

In reopening Ilocos Norte’s tourism, the provincial government received a grant of P9 million from the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board. A portion of the grant would be set aside for the COVID-19 swab testing of tourism workers, Raquel said. INQ

Photo attached.

Caption: Tourism workers in Ilocos Norte hold a meeting at an outdoor garden located at the Provincial Capitol. (Photo courtesy of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Government)

LZB