Follow IATF protocols, Palace insists

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang reiterated yesterday its call for local government units to follow the quarantine protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the IATF guidelines for a mandatory 10-day facility quarantine and swab testing on the seventh day upon arrival should remain as standard protocols.

“Ang desisyon ng Presidente, lahat po ay dapat sumunod sa isang protocol. Sampung araw na facility quarantine, test on the seventh day na RT-PCR (reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction). Kung negatibo they can be released. The last four days of quarantine will be at home,” Roque said.

During a special board session attended by IATF officials at the provincial capitol on Tuesday, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia insisted that their protocols for inbound travelers have been effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 even though it deviated from the IATF regulations.

Malacañang rejected Garcia’s proposal that only Cebuanos would be tested upon arrival and those who yielded negative results on the third day would be placed in quarantine facilities as a ”compromise.”

Garcia added that non-Cebuanos would follow the IATF protocols for a 10-day hotel quarantine.