SWAB TEST. The port border control team in Zamboanga City facilitates the screening of arriving passengers on Wednesday night (Feb. 2, 2022). Inbound travelers are required to present negative swab tests or antigen results regardless of their vaccination status to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 amid the threat posed by the Omicron variant. (Photo courtesy of Zamboanga CIO) ZAMBOANGA CITY - The city health office (CHO) stands firm in the importance of requiring inbound travelers to present negative swab tests or antigen results regardless of their vaccination status. "This is to prevent more coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases because the majority of the inbound travelers had been tested positive for the virus, increasing further the city's active Covid-19 cases," said Dr. Cathy Garcia, assistant CHO chief, in a statement Friday. The local Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has imposed the negative reverse transcriptio
VAX CARD CHECK. A policeman checks the vaccination card of a pedestrian along R. T. Lim Boulevard in Zamboanga City on Wednesday (Jan. 12, 2022) as the city government, through Executive Order 704-2022, regulates the movement of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals. The measure is to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 amid the threat of the Omicron variant. (Photo courtesy of Zamboanga CIO) ZAMBOANGA CITY - Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals here on Thursday were strongly advised to stay home amid the threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). "We have a new executive order (EO). They can only go out for an emergency and other humanitarian purposes," said Dr. Cathy Garcia, assistant city health officer. The control on the movement of unvaccinated and partially individuals is under Section 12 of EO 704-2022 issued by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, chair of the local Inter-Agency Task Force on