BY CARLA P. GOMEZ
All Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs), who have tested negative for COVID-19 and undergone the required quarantine, should not be subjected to another 14-day quarantine by the receiving Local Government Units, the Department of Health in Western Visayas said yesterday.
The DOH said it was reiterating the guidelines issued by the National Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19 dated August 19 on the management of ROFs.
All receiving LGUs should not deny the entry of ROFs with complete requirements, provided that prior coordination was made through the NTF or Regional Task Force, it said.
The requirements should include a copy of the negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) results of the ROF, a certification and travel clearance, the DOH added.
The DOH 6, however, emphasized that LGUs through their Barangay Health Emergency and Response Teams play an important role in monitoring ROFs who have arrived in their areas.
The ROFs should notify their respective LGUs if they manifest signs and symptoms of COVID-19, it said.
The LGUs shall then inform the regional task force for coordinated action, it added.
Before their return to their LGUs, all ROFs arriving in the country, regardless of their categories, should undergo RT-PCR testing, the DOH said.
While waiting for their RT-PCR results, the ROFs should be temporarily quarantined in accredited facilities, the DOH added.
ROFs with positive RT-PCR results will be transferred immediately for isolation while those with negative results will be allowed to travel back to their respective residences.*
