The Department of Health on Monday assured that the government will still implement safety protocols in opening the country to more tourists starting April.
According to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, experts have carefully studied the decision to allow more vacationers to arrive in the country.
“Hindi naman po tayo magbubukas nang wala tayong safety net or safeguard, so nandyan pa rin po yung ating patuloy na pagbabantay, meron pa rin po tayong mga protocols na ipatutupad,” she said.
“So hindi ho kailangan mangamba ng ating mga kababayan, meron pa rin po tayong mga pinatutupad na protocols and we are still doing close monitoring,” the doctor added.
According to Vergeire, no case of the so-called “deltacron” variant of COVID-19 has been recorded in the country.
“Base doon sa mga bansa na naka-experience nito with this kind of detection, ang sinasabi po ng mga eksperto walang masyadong difference with omicron. Ito po rin ay hindi nakapagpakita ng more severe infections. Hindi rin siya nakapagpakita ng mas transmissible.”
“Pero siyempre, patuloy na pinag-aaralan po ang mga ganitong sitwasyon,” said Vergeire.
According to the official, the government will continue to intensify the vaccination of the people to protect them against COVID-19.
Safety protocols remain with arrival of more tourists: DOH
“Ito pong Bayanihan Bakunahan na ito, balak po namin ay pagpatuloy ‘to, at maging every month natin na activity, or even local government can adapt these para po mas maitaas pa ang antas ng pagbabakuna sa buong bansa,” she said.
The government is over halfway to meeting its goal for the fourth round of the statewide vaccination program “Bayanihan, Bakunahan,” the Department of Health announced on Friday.
According to the DOH, with the cooperation of employers, private doctors’ clinics, and churches, the initiative had delivered 1,814,315 jabs, or 97 percent of its target 1.87 million doses as of March 17.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that starting April 1, the Philippines will reopen its borders to all foreign tourists, including those from visa-exempt countries.
Puyat told Teleradyo that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) had approved the tourism industry’s expansion to all foreigners.
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