Baguio citizens may be the first in the country to perform Covid-19 self-testing, already common in other countries.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said he is eyeing the use of the antigen self-tests to speed up detection and management of Covid-19 cases.
"Our city could be the pilot site for the do-it-yourself testing kits widely used in the US, Canada, Europe, and Singapore," the mayor said in a Facebook post.
The Department of Health (DoH) has yet to issue regulations on self-testing.
Despite this, Magalong assured his constituents that testing czar Vivencio Dizon expressed his support.
The city government aims to roll out the program this week following the approval by the national task force for Covid-19.
“Self-tests work to reduce the chances of spreading the virus as infected persons could undertake their own tests in the comforts of their homes without having to go to health facilities which expose other people to the health risk.”
Covid-19 self-test kits have been used in many foreign countries since late 2020.
A rapid antigen self-testing requires the user to swab their own throat and nose, perform their own testing, before finally reading a result within 20 minutes.
Leisure travel ban
Aside from ramping up testing to fast-track detection and treatment, the City of Pines has also suspended all leisure travel starting January 2, 2022, until further notice.
“In view of the threat of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, and the expected surge in cases, we are temporarily not allowing new requests for leisure travel,” the city advisory read.
Only pre-approved travel requests with issued QTPs on Baguio VISITA will be honored and allowed entry, but are still subject to change.
Tags: #Covid19, #Covid19testing, #selftesting, #BaguioCity, #tourism