This city’s Inter-Agency Task Force on coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) said the local government will pay for the swab testing of certain inbound travelers coming in either by air or land transportation.

In an executive order issued by Mayor Samuel Co on Tuesday, swab testing will be free of charge for arriving non-Authorized Persons Outside Residence (non-APOR) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) regardless of quarantine status in their places of origin.

Co’s EO No. 8 does not require Covid-19 testing for APORs such as government workers, police officers, and soldiers, as well as travelers regularly coming to this city to deliver essential cargoes.

Co said the free testing seeks to help alleviate the plight of residents “who already have their personal challenges brought about by the health pandemic”.

He said the swab test is required for monitoring purposes “so that immediate action can be undertaken if and when any of the arriving travelers yield positive for Covid-19″.

Co’s order does not also require inbound travelers to undergo a 14-day quarantine, “provided that they will give their number and exact and complete address in the city for monitoring and contact tracing purposes”.

The local IATF has designated the local airport as a swab testing center for arriving passengers and the isolation facility in Barangay Sta. Maria, this city, for travelers who arrived here by land transport.

Meanwhile, inbound travelers with negative swab test results from their places of origin are not required to undergo testing upon arrival, provided that the test was done five days before their arrival here. (PNA)