After 40 air passengers from Manila tested positive for COVID-19 in Davao over the weekend, another group of 26 travelers aboard a commercial and sweeper flight that landed at the Davao Airport have tested positive for the disease on Monday..
The City Health Officer said many people who arrive in Davao do not undergo swab testing from their places of origin and do not have negative RT-PCR results from Manila.
“Dito na sila magpa-swab kasi mahal man while Davao City, ang government natin is offering free, basta mapa-swab lang sila. That is why nagkakaroon tayo ng positive cases (They should be swabbed here because it is expensive while the Davao City government offers it for free. That is why we are having positive cases),” City Health Office Chief Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said.
The local government assured it is ready to accept and immediately isolate passengers pending their swab test results. The 40 passengers of the commercial flight who initially tested positive are now in the isolation facilities of Davao City.
The other COVID-19 positive travelers who are not residents of Davao are now being taken care of by their respective LGUs.
Four flights arrive at the Davao International Airport on Mondays, five on Tuesdays, four on Wednesdays, five on Thursdays, eight on Fridays, five on Saturdays, and two on Sundays.
– Report from Jay Lagang
