The famous tourist town of Coron located in Palawan province, one of the major tourism destinations in the Philippines, is ready to reopen to local visitors by the end of this month and to the rest of the local visitors outside the province possibly by December.

The municipal Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has decided that this is time to welcome visitors again that were prohibited from entering into Coron to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic since March. However, all safety and health protocols will remain in place and all visitors will require to strictly following all preventive measures of the infection.

The municipal tourism office in Coron has announced on Sunday (Oct 18) that town residents may resume their tourism activities starting from October 26. Local visitors from the Calamian Islands Group, which comprises Busuanga, Culion, and Coron islands, will be allowed to visit the area from November 16. Domestic travel from all over the Philippines is tentatively scheduled to start on December 1.

“To ensure a gradual, prompt, and safe reopening of tourism in the municipality, all are advised to please wait for the official guidelines which will be posted immediately once they become available,” mentioned in the announcement.

Coron is considered as an adventure paradise and best for wreck diving, kayaking, island hopping and snorkeling activities. The island also has rich marine biodiversity, turquoise crystal-clear lakes, white sand beaches and mangrove swamps.

Apart from above, operations of commercial passenger flight to Busuanga Airport have also resumed from October 15, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The town has reported only 7 confirmed COVID-19 cases that are now isolated in a quarantine facility and 20 individuals are considered as suspicious cases.

In regard to COVID-19 transmission in Philippines, the country has seen a spike in infection last few weeks and reported a total number of 360,775 confirmed cases which are under treatment and 6,690 patients have lost their lives due to the virus. However, 310,642 patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered from the virus, as of Tuesday (Oct 18).