COVID-19 screening checkpoints remain for those going to Boracay

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — Checkpoints intended to screen travelers going to Malay town in Aklan were lifted on Sunday, but COVID-19 restrictions for those going to Boracay island remain.

In an advisory, the municipal government of Malay in Aklan announced that the checkpoints had been lifted since 15 days had already passed since China imposed a lockdown on travel from Hubei province and other areas where there was an outbreak of the virus.

The municipal government added that 14 days had also passed since the national government restricted travel from and to China, Macau and Hong Kong.

But tourists going to Boracay will still be inspected for their travel history to ensure that they have not been to China and its two special administrative regions 14 days before going to the Philippines.

“The checkpoints were mainly intended for those who entered the country before the [national] travel restrictions were implemented,” said Councilor Nenette Aguirre-Graf, co-chair of the town’s Inter-Agency Task Force Against the Novel Coronavirus.

Health officials have determined that the incubation period of the virus — that is, the time when symptoms first appear after infection — is from two to 14 days.

The Department of Health in Western Visayas, which includes Boracay Island, reported that all 29 persons under investigation for possible COVID-19 infection tested negative.

Tourists from China are the top foreign travelers TO Boracay Island — reaching 434,175 in 2019, or 41.84% of the total 1,032,619 foreign tourists who went to the island.

President Rodrigo Duterte plans to visit Cebu, Bohol, and Boracay as part of efforts to assure the safety of these destinations and encourage domestic travelers amid a slump in foreign tourist arrivals.

/atm