A 4,200 square-meter inflatable island with slides, towers, bridges, human launchers, and swings among others, is ready to entertain visitors for its soft opening on Saturday but still subject to minimum health and safety protocols.

Located at the Paoay Lake near the Malacanang of the North in Barangay Suba, Paoay, Ilocos Norte, the Paoay Lake waterpark is seen to boost domestic tourism amid a prolonged pandemic.

Ilocos Norte Tourism Office announced Tuesday that online booking at www.theinflatableisland.com is now being accepted to avail of the early bird’s promo at PHP349 per person only.

As of this posting, the lakefront is now equipped with bean bags and bali beach umbrellas for Instagrammable photos.

Like any other outdoor activities in the province, the opening of the first floating playground in the north will be strictly regulated to ensure that the health and safety of visitors will not be compromised, said Aianree Raquel, head of the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office.

Speaking during his first conference for this year held at the Capitol on Monday, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc reiterated that as most residents are now vaccinated, there is no reason to panic or overreact even with the presence of the Omicron variant.

Ilocos Norte has the highest vaccination coverage in Region 1 for fully jabbed individuals at 74.24 percent, based on the Department of Health report.

As of Jan. 17, Ilocos Norte logged a total of 1,045 active new cases out of 20,145 total confirmed cases, with 18,611 recoveries and 489 deaths. Some 32 new Covid-19 infections were reported on the same day. (PNA)