Arriving international passengers to get tested for Covid

File photo.
File photo.

THE Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) will start testing arriving international passengers for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as soon as it gets a certification from the Department of Health and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

MCIA Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Steve Dicdican disclosed that their RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) laboratory would be operational Monday night, June 1, 2020.

Dicdican said completion of the lab was delayed for a week as they needed to put up negative air pressure chambers to prevent cross-contamination.

Aside from the lab, swab booths will be placed at the Terminal 2 Arrival Reclaim Area 4, where foreign passengers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) converge after they disembark from their planes.

Andrew Harrison, GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. chief executive advisor, assured that the RT-PCR test is affordable at P4,500 each and the result can be claimed within 24 hours.

The lab can analyze 900 swab samples daily at the start, but the number will eventually rise to 1,500 swab samples daily, he said.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Maritime Industry Authority will shoulder the cost of RT-PCR tests for returning OFWs and seafarers.

However, other arriving passengers will have to pay for their own test.

Dicdican told SunStar Cebu they are working on a system so the passenger can pay ahead of time before arriving at the airport.

“We are still trying to devise a system for pre-payment or to pre-arrange for the test and accommodations,” he said.

Since travel for leisure is still not allowed, this will cover stranded Filipinos and those travelling for business, work or other non-leisure purposes.

Subsidized amount

“This (cost) is already a subsidized amount since the cost for building the lab and swabbing personnel are borne by the airport and not passed on to the passengers,” he said.

The airport’s laboratory operator is Prime Care.

Meanwhile, the MCIAA announced that it is ready to resume operations, saying safety measures are already in place.

These must be observed by both passengers and airport and airlines staff, it said.

The “No Mask, No Entry” policy will be strictly implemented.

The airport authority has installed more than 60 contactless hand sanitizers in strategic areas at Terminals 1 and 2.

Passengers must strictly observe social distancing inside the facility.

Nenette Castillon, operations officer of Terminal 1, assured the public that their trollies are clean and disinfected after every use.

She said they’ve limited send-off and welcome parties at the departure and arrival areas to one companion per passenger.

Management has also made use of technology to promote “no contact” between passengers and staff.

Instead of lining up at the counter, passengers can go directly to a check-in kiosk. However, a smartphone is required to transfer the passenger’s information to the machine.

The airport has also installed a virtual information desk where staff assist passengers through a videocall-like set-up.

During boarding, passengers will be called per row.

Castillon said the MCIAA will deploy safety officers to enforce their new guidelines with the help of the Philippine National Police.

Philippines Airlines has announced that its daily Manila-Cebu flights will resume on Wednesday, June 3, while its four-times-a-week Cebu-Davao flight will resume on June 8.

Cebu Pacific Air’s Manila-Cebu flights will resume June 3 or 4. (KFD/JOB)

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