Individuals staying in Bacolod City who need a travel authority are now required to register in the Bacolod Contact Tracing System.
The City Health Office, through officer-in-charge Dr. Edwin Miraflor Jr., announced the new health protocol on Monday, following the recommendation of the Bacolod City Emergency Operations Center Task Force.
Previously, an individual is required to submit a chest X-ray result to secure a medical certificate for issuance of travel authority.
In Memorandum Order 102320-01, Miraflor noted that the CHO discourages chest X-ray as a requirement for medical certificate as it “does not detect COVID-19”.
He added that Bacolodnons should not be burdened with the cost of X-ray, rapid test, or swab test for COVID-19.
“What’s important is their history of travel and exposure, which BaCTrac would help establish,” Miraflor said.
He added that a chest X-ray may only be required in cases that an attending CHO physician may see fit.
“A health declaration and an evaluation of an attending CHO medical officer in Bacolod would suffice for the issuance of the medical certificate. All other requirements for travel would be dependent on the receiving local government unit,” he said. NLG
