RT-PCR requirement for safety of everybody vs Covid — Mayor Inday

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte on Friday appealed for the understanding of the Dabawenyos and all Davao-bound passengers who are required to submit a negative RT-PCR test result, saying it is to ensure the safety and protection of everybody against the coronavirus.

“It’s either mag-butang og control measures sa mga tao nga naga sulod diri sa atoa nga mga positive or pasagdan nato nga mag sige’g sulod ang mga positive sa atoa. And then, kitang tanan diri sa Davao City ang ma compromise (It is either we put control measures for the people who are positive to come in the city or we let those who are positive to keep entering the city. And then, all of all will be compromised),” Mayor Said said in an interview over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Friday

Mayor Sara emphasized the need for the government to put in place measures to protect everyone not just in Davao City but also the neighboring areas because Covid-19 cases are increasing.

She also said that requiring the passenger’s negative RT-PCR result is the better choice than to close the Francisco Bangoy International Airport for local commercial flights.

“There is a choice nga isarado ang airport para walay makasulod para ma control ang increasing cases, so dili nato gusto na buhaton nga walay flights coming in and out of Davao International Airport (This is the lesser evil because there is a choice to close the airport to control the increasing cases and we do not want to do that no flights can come in and out of the Davao International Airport),” she said.

The mayor appealed to the public after the city government required Davao-bound passengers to present upon check-in a negative RT-PCR (Reverse Transmission Polymerase Chain Reaction) taken 48 hours of the departure date drew mixed reactions from the netizens especially on the cost of testing and the urgency of the requirement.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) had released an advisory that all airlines are to require Davao-based/bound passengers to submit a negative RT-PCR as pre-requisite for boarding at the airport of origin. The testing will be shouldered by the passengers themselves.

Mayor Sara said that the city government is only implementing control measures to control the increasing Covid-19 positive cases in the city.

The submission of a negative RT PCR for Davao-bound passengers was prompted after the data from the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit showed that from July 5-13, 2020, the highest confirmed Covid-19 cases in Davao City were travellers from Manila.

The city government hopes this measure would help Mindanao control the spread of the coronavirus. (City Information Office – Davao City)

A version of this article was first published on The Official Website of the City Government of Davao.