By J. Jala | 04:14 PM February 04, 2021
Bohol is now allowing the entry of tourists and authorized persons outside residents (APOR) who have negative results for Covid-19 via the cheaper and quicker saliva test, the provincial government said.
On Tuesday, Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap signed Executive Order (EO) No. 9 series of 2021 allowing accept saliva test in lieu of the swab test RT-PCR for tourists wishing to enter Bohol’s tourism bubble and APOR who are assigned to work or do business in the province.
Like Boracay, tourists and APOR are required to provide negative RT-PCR test results taken 72 hours prior to arrival in Bohol.
The Department of Health (DOH) approved the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) proposal to use saliva tests to detect Sars-CoV-2.
RT-PCR Saliva testing generates faster results within three to four hours, after samples have been collected.
Coronavirus saliva testing is priced at P2,000 per test, which is P1,800 cheaper than swab testing.
PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said that the price of the saliva test may decrease if more people would avail of the test.