By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: ABS-CBN News

Having a negative COVID-19 test result does not mean that an individual is free from COVID-19, Malacañang said Monday as it justified the Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF) decision among tourists to only present their vaccination cards when entering different destinations.

“Ang siyensiya naman po, 'pag nabakunahan na, hindi ka na magkakasakit ng malala, napakaliit na ng tsansa na makapanghawa, although meron pa rin,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Thursday media briefing.

“Wala naman talagang 100% guarantee. Even if you test negative with RT-PCR, [there are cases where ] the virus could not be immediately captured, so there is no 100% guarantee in a pandemic,” he added.



But the Palace official recognized the concerns raised by local governments as the policy has caused confusions. However, Roque said it is unlikely for the policy to be changed.

“The concerns of the LGUs will be addressed, but as of the moment, there is no new IATF resolution on this,” he said.

As of July 8, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,455,585 total COVID-19 infections along with 49,306 active cases, 1,380,899 recoveries, and 25,650 mortalities.

According to National Vaccination Operations Center, as of July 7, 12,489,777 COVID-19 shots have been administered in the country of which 9,399,801 individuals have received the first doses and 3,089,976 have completed two doses.


Report source: GMA News

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