Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 26) — Rapid testing will now be available for employees of the Bureau of Immigration and personal protective equipment (PPE) have been procured for them, the agency announced on Sunday.
In a statement, the agency said it had received a donation of 500 sets of COVID-19 rapid test kits from Chinese authorities.
“We are duty-bound to continue our operations despite the community quarantine, and this puts our personnel at risk. We hope that through COVID-19 testing, we may help lessen this risk and curb the further spread of the virus,” said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
Morente added the bureau has also obtained PPE for their frontline workers, adding it is estimated to last until December.
“These PPEs include face shield, gown, gloves, goggles, and other sanitizing and protective equipment needed by our men in their daily duties as frontliners, especially those attending special flights and processing arriving ships, being the most at risk of getting infected,” he explained.
Over 400 immigration officers are currently performing frontline duties at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, said BI Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina.
“Aside from performing counter duties, these officers are also frequently dispatched to process hundreds of passengers aboard repatriation and sweeper flights that have been flying in and out of the NAIA,” he added.
The bureau said its officers process repatriated passengers in a separate area at the airport’s tarmac, adding a lot of Filipino evacuees amid the pandemic hail from countries with a high number of coronavirus cases.
More than 40 repatriation flights have arrived at the NAIA in the past three weeks, said the bureau.
Filipino crew who disembark in the country also go through processing under immigration officers amid the lockdown, reported the bureau’s seaport operations division.
Apart from international airports and sea ports, the bureau said over 60 of its offices nationwide remain in operation despite some areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao being placed under lockdown.
In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, President Rodrigo Duterte extended the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and all other high-risk provinces in Luzon until May 15.
The Philippines currently has 7,579 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 501 deaths and 862 recoveries.
