Philippines eyes pilot study of saliva-based Covid-19 test for tourists as total cases goes above 360,000

Philippine Department of Tourism would do pilot studies on both antigen and saliva-based testing. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday (Oct 20) reported 1,640 new confirmed Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 360,775. - Reuters

MANILA (Philippines Daily Inquirer/Asian News Network): The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) will soon launch a pilot study of saliva-based Covid-19 testing for screening tourists, Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat told senators on Monday during a hearing on her department's proposed 2021 budget.

Puyat noted that a survey previously released by the DOT showed that 77 per cent of its respondents would want to travel but could not afford to undergo reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing.