The president of the Bohol Medical Society (BMS) admits that his group was never consulted regarding a specific provision appearing on Executive Order (EO) No. 57.
This is the revelation of BMS president Dr. Jefferson Ong in a radio interview on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020 over Newsmakers ug Uban Pa, hosted by Ardy Batoy and Gloria Araneta.
He cited the provision in the EO that a free independent tourist (FIT) and an authorized person outside of residence (APOR) may leave the travel bubble or work area once he/she tests negative for Covid via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) taken on the fifth day from arrival here.
The BMS head said that his group was not involved during the deliberation of the cited E0.
“in all honesty, we were not really given the chance to deliberate on it ans to discuss it,” he said in the radio interview.
The doctor added that ever since, his group has maintained their pisition that testing should be done either on the seventh or eighth day. This is the time when the PCR test can effectively detect the presence of the virus causing the Coronavirus disease (Covid).
He added that the testing on the fifth day from arrival protocol is something the doctors’ group is not comfortable with and has issued a position paper regarding the matter.
EO 57 allows the FIT and the APOR to go anywhere upon getting a negative result taken after five (5) days from arrival here.
Gov. Arthur Yap explained his decision to sign the EO as a way to increase the number of visitors to Bohol and help revive the tourism industry severely affected by the pandemic.