FULLY- vaccinated visitors coming to Baguio will no longer have to undergo swab tests, according to the city’s newest travel protocols.
The Baguio Tourism Office on July 5 (Monday), released its latest set of travel protocols for entry into the Summer Capital.
Under Executive Order No. 79, fully-vaccinated persons, or persons who have had either their second shot for two-dose vaccines or their first shot for single-dose vaccines at least 14 days prior to arrival, can enter the city without undergoing a swab test, provided that they are able to produce their vaccination card at the city’s triage.
Prior to the city’s issuance of the order, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) issued Resolution 124-B, which enables locals to travel within the Philippines by presenting their vaccination cards as proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.
However, leisure travelers are still required to register under the city’s Visitor Information and Travel Assistance (VISITA) system at visita.baguio.gov.ph and present a quick response (QR) code issued from the site upon entry into the city.
“So how does this affect Baguio? The general rule is, if you are fully vaccinated, you can use that vaccination card or vaccination QR passport as an alternative to testing. But in all cases coming to Baguio, we require that you register, either under the HDF (health declaration form) website if you are an APOR (authorized person outside of residence), or under VISITA if you are not an APOR,” Atty. Althea Alberto from the city mayor’s office said.
Even with the vaccination cards and QR codes, travelers crossing Baguio’s borders into the city must still undergo triage.
Unvaccinated travelers meanwhile must still undergo either a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab test or an antigen test prior to entry.
