NOTE: THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE BOHOL CHRONICLE’S SUNDAY PRINT EDITION.
How much does one need to spend to get tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19)?
That would be between P4,500 to P2,500 in some Department of Health-accredited laboratory facilities running the gold standard test for the virus called Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).
Meanwhile, to make sure that people can have enough protection against the said virus, one has to spend about $3 to $37 or roughly between P150 to P1,850 for the two doses needed.
SEED MONEY
Seeing this and noting that prevention is better than cure, the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is embarking on a P10-M seed fund to buy the vaccine for their frontline workers.
Should the BCCI be successful in this endeavor, all store keepers, sales clerks, promo merchandisers, drivers, conductors, laborers, construction workers, and those working for their companies under the BCCI can be inoculated to stop the virus from spreading through them.
For the tourism industry, BCCI member Atty. Lucas Nunag shared during the Kapihan sa PIA recently that if the tourism industry stakeholders and establishment owners could raise enough funds from local sources, it would be easier to leverage the same for national funds as counterpart.
Nunag, who owns a tropical resort in Panglao, said this would be a pro-active move towards economic recovery and would send a reassuring message to tourists that Bohol is a safe destination.
During the online radio forum, Nunag pointed out that they would rather go for a P1,800 double dose of the vaccine than spending P4,500 for a simple test which does not yet cover treatment costs.
If the plan pushes through, they could have Boholano workers protected from the virus.
Nunag, who leads the Provincial Tourism Council in Bohol, has been at the forefront of looking for ways to re-open Bohol’s tourism, as this can also help people and the local economy recover from the crippling impact of the pandemic.
Admitting that it might still take long before Bohol can return to pre-COVID normal, he said everything must be ready before the tourists can come.
“The sooner we can raise the funds, the better would it be for Bohol as the confidence it would project to the tourists who would feel safe here,” he noted. (rahc/PIA7/Bohol)