The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Philippines has announced on Wednesday (Sept 23) that the Boracay Island in the central Philippines is set to welcome local visitors from all over the country from October 1, 2020.

The tourism department has said in its statement, “Boracay Island will further open its doors to more local tourists from the first day of October and signals the continued resurgence of domestic tourism nationwide.”

The decision to reopen the island came as a conclusion of a special meeting held on Tuesday (Sept 22). The meeting was conducted by the principals of the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) and chaired by its Chairperson Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, Co-Vice Chairpersons Interior and Local Government Secretary Ed Ano, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and Governor of Aklan Province Joeben Miraflores.

Ms. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Secretary of the DOT, has informed that the department will implement a “Test Before Travel” rule, which requires all visitors to have a negative result of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The test must be taken between 48 and 72 hours before travelling to Boracay Island.

However, travelers will be required to undergo a strict quarantine immediately after a test and until the time of travel to the island. The “Test Before Travel” rule will also allow tourists from areas that generally have community quarantine status to visit the island.

According to the tourism department, travelers under the age of 21 years and over 60 years can visit Boracay as long as they are not in serious or poor health condition.

The Boracay Island is one of the must-visit tourist attractions and well known for its beaches and resorts. About 2 million tourists flock to Boracay Island last year to enjoy the powdery white sand on the beaches, spectacular sunsets and calm blue waters on the island. But this year, the island was closed to visitors when the government imposed a lockdown in late March, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

In regards to COVID-19 transmission in Philippines, the country has reported a total number of 296,755 confirmed cases which are under treatment and 5,127 patients have lost their lives due to the virus. However, 231,928 patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered from the virus, as of Thursday (Sept 24).

In terms of the number of infections and deaths, Philippines ranks second among Southeast Asia countries, after Indonesia.