DOH to ‘critique’ Cebu’s testing protocols for returning Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has given the Department of Health until Thursday to “critique” Cebu provinces’ testing protocols that veered away from the national government’s policy, Malacañang said.

Returning Filipinos should be tested seven days after their arrival in the country, according to protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

But in Cebu, returning Filipinos undergo COVID-19 testing upon arrival.

“Ang sabi pa rin ng Presidente, ang mga national policies dapat sinusunod ng lahat,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday in an online briefing.

(The President said national policies should still be followed by all.)

“Pero pagdating po dito sa Cebu, ang naging desisyon ni Presidente, bigyan natin hanggang Huwebes ang Department of Health para mag-critique doon sa revised protocols o ibang protocols na pinapatupad sa Cebu,” he added.

(But when it comes to Cebu, the President’s decision was to give the Department of Health until Thursday to critique the revised protocols implemented in Cebu.)

Roque said Cebu tests inbound travelers for COVID-19 upon arrival and allows them to undergo home quarantine with strict monitoring by the barangay health workers. The travelers undergo another COVID-19 test on the seventh day.

Cebu authorities also invoked “humantiarian grounds” for returning overseas Filipinos who are eager to see their family members, Roque added.

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