Prov’l IATF may require travel authority anew
THE Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) may soon require anew inbound visitors to Pangasinan to secure a travel authority before entering the province to mitigate the spike of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.
In an interview, Provincial Health Officer (PHO) and Provincial IATF member Dr. Anna de Guzman cited the observation that when travel authority was still required, the province recorded fewer cases of COVID-19.
De Guzman said that since the travel protocols were eased, travelers were only required to register at the Safe, Swift and Smart Passage (S-Pass) and at tarana.ph for tourists.
She said Gov. Amado Espino III as head of the provincial IATF, has since ordered the review of the implementation of the health and safety protocols and monitor the COVID-19 cases of the province.
De Guzman also noted that aside from the easing travel protocols, one of the “contributory factors” of the perceived COVID-19 surge is the intensified contact tracing of local governments and the ongoing mass testing being implemented throughout the province.
She noted that PHO is ready to boost the operations of the Provincial Molecular Laboratory by increasing its capacity to test 350 swab specimens from the 180 samples per day.
As of the 6 p.m. daily monitoring of the PHO on July 13, Pangasinan logged an 85 new confirmed COVID-19 cases bringing the total number of infected to 13,239; 11,860 have recovered while 434 have died. (Jerick Pasiliao)
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