Authorities of Davao City has announced its suspension of free swab tests for arriving passengers at Davao International Airport as they redirect resources to respond to the rising local transmission of COVID-19 in their area.
Gene Rose Tecson, head of the Davao City Tourism Operations Office, said the tests were halted on January 13. The free RT-PCR tests will resume once its Los Amigos COVID-19 Laboratory starts operating, she added.
All neighboring local government units were advised to pick up their stranded residents in the airport. Non-Davao City residents will be allowed to exit the airport even without the swab test as long as they can present other needed documents and they will be fetched by their respective LGUs, Tecson explained.
For arriving passengers, those with negative RT-PCR test results taken within 24-72 hours before their flights to the city will be prioritized for exit.
For Davao City residents without RT-PCR test results, Tecson said other documents will be checked, like health declaration forms.
