Baguio opens doors to non-APOR
Those returning home to Baguio can either submit negative test results or undergo 14-day quarantine
BAGUIO CITY — After opening its doors to tourists from Luzon, the country’s Summer Capital will accept non-Authorized Persons Outside Residence (non-APOR) starting Monday.
The Inter-Agency Task Force ( IATF) issued a resolution allowing the interzonal and intrazonal movements of non-APOR, subject to regulations that will be formulated and improved in the coming days.
The city government classified travelers to determine the requirements for each type.
For health workers, uniformed personnel and government officials who are assigned in the Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay (BLISTT) areas, they must provide medical certificates from the local health offices of their places of origins, valid government-issued identification cards ( ID) and proof of residence or assignment.
For APOR not residing or not working in BLISTT areas, aside from the medical certificates and valid ID, they also have to bring latest COVID- negative results taken at least 72 hours prior to entry.
For non- APOR or those entering the city for non-tourist and personal travel purposes, including students, they need to show negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or rapid anti-gen test results, also not older than 72 hours prior to entry.
Locally stranded individuals going to their home cities and provinces and Baguio residents who will be staying out of the city for more than a month shall be required to secure travel authority passes at the Baguio Athletic Bowl. Those returning home to Baguio, on the other hand, can either submit negative test results or undergo 14-day quarantine.
Tourists are still required to register at visita.baguio.gov.ph while all inbound travelers must submit their health declaration forms at hdf.baguio.gov.ph
As of 24 October, Baguio has 576 active COVID-19 cases out of 1,864 confirmed infections. A total of 1,264 have recovered while 24 died.
Cordillera currently ranks 12th among the 17 regions in terms of most number of confirmed cases with 2,798 cases as of 21 October.
Recently, the University of the Philippines-OCTA Research identified Makati, Baguio and Mandaluyong as high-risk areas for infection.
The Department of Health ( DoH) Center for Health and Development Cordillera said it was because of effective contact tracing that is expanded outside the household of confirmed cases.
DoH-Cordillera director Dr. Ruby Constantino said Baguio already tested 51,969 individuals, or 13.9 percent of the population. It was the highest compared to all the provinces in the region.
Cordillera currently ranks 12th among the 17 regions in terms of most number of confirmed cases with 2,798 cases as of 21 October. Of the total, 1,937 or 69.23 percent already recovered while there were 31 deaths, or 1.11 percent fatality rate.