MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Wednesday said local governments can still require a negative RT-PCR test result for fully vaccinated travelers before it allows entry to their areas.
Last week, the pandemic task force announced that COVID-19 vaccine cards would now count as alternatives to the testing requirement before travel or upon arrival to a destination.
But health authorities in an advisory tonight said LGUs may continue to do so as they first "iron out operational concerns raised by some implementers."
The clarification came after Secretary Francisco Duque III told dZMM that travelers complete with their doses would have to show a negative test result again.
He said the IATF would meet on Thursday along with representatives from the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines to settle concerns on the move.
"It's status quo because there is an appeal," Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire told reporters in Filipino. "That has been our process."
DOH said that should LGUs retain the testing requirement, it should only be limited to results from RT-PCR screening, long considered as the "gold standard" of testing for COVID-19.
"More importantly, the DOH maintains that symptom and exposure screening," the agency added, "complemented by robust contact tracing, remains to be the most effective interzonal border control measures."
— Department of Health (@DOHgovph) July 7, 2021
Only 2.60% or 2.86 million Filipinos have completed their doses as of July 5, official figures showed, while 8.83 million have received their initial shot.
Several cities have recently halted administering first doses due to the lack of vaccine supply, which has yet to become stable in the country.
The government is looking to vaccinate up to 70 million this year in a bid to reach herd immunity in one of Southeast Asia's worst COVID-19 outbreaks.