SAGADA, Mountain Province– The municipal government recently relaxed the implementation of community quarantine regulations to allow the entry of locally stranded individuals (LSIs), returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and authorized persons outside residence (APORs) who are vaccinated.
However, Mayor James Pooten clarified that tourist are not yet allowed to visit the municipality because tourism-related activities are not yet allowed until September as earlier announced.
He pointed out that LSIs, ROFWs and APORs who can present their valid vaccination cards will be allowed entry to the municipality even without undergoing the required antigen or swab test because their being vaccinated is already proof of their compliance to the existing guidelines.
For those who have not been fully vaccinated but want to enter the municipality for important transactions, he disclosed that they can proceed to the St. Theodore’s Hospital or the municipal health office for the required antigen or swab test.
According to him, antigen test will be required to individuals staying in the municipality for not more than 5 days but those who will be staying for more than 5 days; they will be obliged to undergo the required swab test on the 6th day of their stay.
Mayor Pooten reiterated that the local government is steadfast in the implementation of community quarantine regulations because as local officials and health workers do not want anybody to contract the deadly virus that may result to a sudden surge in the number of cases which might compromise the local health care system.
He urged tourists raring to visit the various tourist destinations in the municipality to wait for future advisories from the municipal inter-agency task force as local tourism industry stakeholders are still getting ready for the possible opening of tourism-related activities by September.
Sagada is one of the preferred tourist destinations in Northern Luzon as the municipality has been a home for foreign and domestic visitors because of the numerous sceneries in the locality.
The municipal mayor asserted that the registration for possible scheduled visits in the municipality will be done through a registration platform that will be made available to ensure that the arrivals will be controlled based on the established guidelines to avoid the possible surges in COVID-19 cases when tourism-related activities will be gradually and safely opened.
On the other hand, he revealed that local tourism industry stakeholders are also undergoing a number of activities to ensure their preparedness to accept the influx of visitors once the inter-agency task force allows the gradual entry of the visitors to help in safely reviving the local economy that had been heavily impacted by the ongoing health crisis for over a year now. By HENT
