CAMIGUIN governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo on Thursday issued revised guidelines for incoming travelers to Camiguin Island.

Today, over his radio program, the Padayong Pagserbisyo Alang sa Katawhan (PPASK), Romualdo, with the concerned agencies and departments in the province even bared the present Covid-19 vaccination rate, which is now at 111.7% for the fully vaccinated individuals.

The governor announced that unvaccinated visitors are already allowed to enter the province for leisure or essential purposes starting March 17, 2023, through Executive Order No. 15B.

“Karon wala na’y pili, whether for leisure, for tourism, or work or other essential purposes, unvaccinated ka pwede na ka musulod gyud dinhi sa province and enjoy the province,” Gov. Xavier Jesus Romualdo

Still, Romualdo said unvaccinated are now allowed to enter provided they present a negative antigen swab test result.

He said the test must be done no more than two days before a person arrives in the province and the antigen test should also be done at an accredited facility of the Department of Health (DOH).

Romualdo also made it clear that the provincial government will not accept or take into account self-administered antigen tests.

From the previous vaccination requirement for children aged five–11 years old, the new EO now allows unvaccinated children of the said age range to enter the province. This is after pointing out that the vaccination for this age group is not yet given in some places.

For children between the ages of 12 and 17 who haven't been vaccinated, the local government will only need a negative antigen swab test.

Use of CleanCamiguin QR

The CleanCamiguin QR, which can be accessed through www.cleancamiguinqr.com, will still be required from visitors and locals, according to Romualdo.

The provincial government has improved the platform, which is now easier to fill out, he said.

Aside from the basic information needed, travelers now have the option to click on their current Covid-19 vaccination status.

“People who have been vaccinated still need to upload their vaccination ID,” said Romualdo adding that the travelers who haven't been vaccinated don't need to upload their negative antigen test result.

The QR code system according to Romualdo will still be used, not only as a contact tracing tool, but it will also help in the improvement and development of tourism in the province.

He also said that the system will help the local government figure out how many people are coming to Camiguin, which will keep the island's carrying capacity stable.

Other agencies and business owners can also ask for a summary of the data from the QR system so they can improve their services or plan for their clients or customers.

This will also be utilized for security purposes, particularly in monitoring the entry of “bad elements” into the province.

As for data privacy, Romualdo said they have established a mechanism where only a few authorized individuals can access the data.

“This complies with the data privacy law,” Romualdo said. (With a report from RTP/PIA-10/Camiguin)