The Philippine government has revised its protocols for all arriving passengers, including foreigners, by requiring them to undergo only the RT-PCR test while in isolation on the fifth day from the date of arrival in the country, Malacanang said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the new testing and quarantine protocols will take effect on February 1 as per Resolution No. 96 of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases issued on January 26.

"Arriving passengers, regardless of origin, shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine upon arrival," the resolution read.

"Unless the passenger exhibits symptoms at an earlier date while on quarantine, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction test shall be conducted on the fifth day from date of arrival in the Philippines," it added.

Currently, all arriving passengers immediately take the RT-PCR test and undergo isolation while waiting for the result. For those coming from countries or jurisdictions with travel restrictions, the arriving passengers have to take the second RT-PCR test on the fifth day.

Under the present and new protocols, IATF said if the RT-PCR test yields a negative result, the passenger shall be endorsed to their local government units of destination who shall then coordinate the person's transfer from quarantine facility to the LGU and strictly monitor the remainder of the 14-day quarantine through their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams.

It said appropriate patient management as outlined in the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines and the Department of Health Omnibus Interim Guidelines on Prevention, Detection, Isolation, Treatment, and Reintegration Strategies for COVID-19 shall still be observed.

In the "Laging Handa" public briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the change in the test protocols will be made "for efficiency for government and also to be more rationale in doing things."

She also said that even if the passenger will only be found to be positive for COVID-19 after the test on the fifth day, there is nothing to be worried about possible transmission.

"As long as we isolate them, even though they are positive, we are assured that they are confined in that room and they cannot infect others. That's why it is also stated in the resolution that there is no cohorting, there's a need for separate rooms for our arriving citizens because they will only be tested on the fifth day," she explained. Celerina Monte/DMS