Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte on Thursday asked agencies in charge of arranging flights for stranded Dabawenyos not to allow passengers, who show signs of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) or those that are positive of the disease, to board the aircraft.
Mayor Inday made the call after several returning Dabawenyos through sweeper flights tested positive of the virus or have manifested symptoms of Covid-19 infection.
Last week four Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) aboard a sweeper flight tested positive of Covid-19. A few days later, two more persons who came home through another sweeper flight failed the health screening conducted by the City Health Office.
The city government has so far accommodated 2,266 inbound passengers and 3,635 outbound passengers since April 29.
“Kinahanglan nato i-screen ang mosulod, and kinahanglan pud nato i-screen ang mogawas because dapat dili makasakay ang Covid-19 positive nga tao and dapat dili pud makasakay ang naga manifest og symptoms,” she said.
“Dapat duna puy screening pagawas because otherwise katong tanan na kauban niya sa airplane ma quarantine sila, og mga quarantine pud ang tibuok crew sa airline, and then mobalhin ang positive sa pikas lugar. Maong kinahanglan sa screening sa airport is going in and coming out,” she added.
Mayor Inday said that the city will establish a screening station at the Davao International Airport to ensure that all individuals boarding their flights, when commercial operations return, are free of the disease.
She said that a team from the CHO will man the screening 24/7.
“Gi-ingnan nato ang atoang City Health Office nga to prepare a 24-hour rotational scheme nga mag duty sa airport. Sa new normal, kung sundon ang distancing, kung masunod ang limit sa flights, mga around 2,000 a day ang mogawas,” she said. CIO
