Boracay began on Wednesday (July 7) the ceremonial COVID-19 vaccination of tourism frontline workers in the island, following the delivery of doses earlier this month.
Around 3,000 tourism workers are targeted to be vaccinated this week from accommodation, restaurant, and other sectors. The island is set to receive another batch of vaccines next week.
The ceremonial vaccination was attended by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Puyat and National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vince Dizon.
Puyat said they are also hoping for donations from the private sector to reach the 40,000 target beneficiaries in the island as soon as possible.
As of July 7, Boracay has recorded 6,975 tourists, with nearly 1,500 tourists per day.
Meanwhile, Aklan province will continue to require negative RT-PCR test results from tourists before allowing their entry into the province. This is despite the easing of interzonal travel restrictions in the country for fully vaccinated individuals.
“Yun lang naman ang hinahanap namin. There should be a system of validation because we also want to be protected from those who want to fake their validation card,” Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores said.
The NTF Against COVID-19 said the government has been coordinating with international agencies to establish a uniform vaccination card. It also issued a warning against those involved in fake vaccination card use.
Malacaῆang warned earlier this week that those caught faking vaccination cards may face charges for falsification of public documents that is punishable by imprisonment. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio/AG-rir
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