The City Government of Zamboanga through its City Health Office (CHO) remains firm in its No RT-PCR, No Entry policy for all inbound travelers including fully vaccinated individuals, especially with the entry of the COVID-19 Delta variant into the country.
According to Dr. Dulce Miravite, the city's health sector advises against the lifting of the RT-PCR requirement particularly for fully vaccinated travellers for a number of reasons, primarily the unstable situation, the low vaccination rate and the threat of the Delta variant.
Verifying vaccination records is another concern. "As of now, we don't have a centralized database system for verification. It is not yet established," the city official said during last Monday's virtual presser.
A consolidated repository of vaccination records would not only make validation and coordination must faster, but also facilitate the detection of fake vaccination cards.
Another reason for not lifting the RT-PCR requirement is the presence of new variants.
"Even if you are fully vaccinated there is still the possibility of getting infected with the other variants," she added.
In past virtual pressers, Miravite had advised Zamboangueños to still comply with the minimum public health and safety standards even after getting their COVID-19 jabs as the vaccines can only minimize the severity of the symptoms but not prevent infection. (Claudine Uniana)