The price cap on RT-PCR tests and testing kits will be a big boon to the tourism industry.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told the BusinessMirror, affordable Covid-19 tests “will help boost the confidence of tourists, and enable them to enjoy our newly opened tourist destinations like Boracay, Baguio, the Ilocos region, El Nido, etc.”. On Wednesday, President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 118, which instructs the Department of Health and Department of Trade and Industry to ensure the accessibility and affordability of Covid-19 tests and testing kits. (See, “Malacañang order sets price cap on coronavirus 2019 test kits,” in this issue.)
Romulo Puyat had earlier appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) for lower prices on Covid-19 tests, including that of antigen tests. She added, the signing of EO 118 “shows the government’s commitment to revive and boost the economy through the slow but safe, and sure revival of domestic tourism.”
RT-PCR tests, considered the most accurate in determining whether or not a person has Covid-19, range anywhere from P3,500 to P8,000 per person, depending on the medical center and the speed by which the results are released. But sources disclosed that some international pharmaceutical companies can directly test “as low as P875 for a family, and issue the results in three to four hours.”
The high cost of the RT-PCR tests has been blamed by stakeholders in Boracay Island as the main reason tourists have yet to flock there, as indicated by the recent data in October arrivals. From Oct. 1-29 arrivals were just 2,337 compared to the 67,493 domestic tourists recorded in October 2019. This led to the Aklan government to sign a resolution, in consultation with stakeholders, last Saturday to request the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force to allow antigen tests for visitors.
The BIATF is led by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and co-chaired by Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, and Romulo Puyat.
A hotelier, who requested anonymity, also urged the BIATF adopt a shorter testing window of 28-48 hours for Boracay. “A family of four was scheduled to fly to Boracay via Caticlan. The flight was scheduled for yesterday, Nov. 3,” he said by way of an example.
“As part of planning, they took their RT-PCR test last Oct. 30, that’s because the results would come in 3-5 days. Results came out Nov. 2. They submitted the results via online application on boracay.tourism. They got rejected because the negative swab results are already expired on the basis that 72 hours had elapsed since the extraction/testing date of Oct. 30,” he said.
Romulo Puyat, for her part, anticipates an increase in domestic trips, with the standardization of prices on RT-PCR and antigen tests, a requirement for entry to destinations around the country and staycations within general community quarantine areas. “The gradual resumption of tourism activities will surely revitalize the economy,” she added.