I needed to take a day trip from Bohol to sign some papers in Cebu. My partner and I negotiated a delay to the event to take advantage of relaxed travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers.
The journey to Cebu was fairly relaxed, marred only by a message, as we were boarding the ferry, that the wrong papers might have been received from Manila. After a pleasant overnight stay, we confirmed that the papers were not correct and our journey had been wasted.
Now our ordeal begins. Changed restrictions required a swab test for the return to Cebu. I committed the heinous crime of testing positive. The result was available at 19:15 in the evening. My partner tested negative. We complied with the advice of the test centre and informed the Barangay and the hotel of my result. was denied any access to the hotel with no alternative accommodation.
My partner did much phoning around of registered quarantine hotels. None of which would accept me. The primary government isolation centre in Manolo also refused to accept me, because I am a foreigner.
With police intervention and assistance from a doctor from EOC, we were finally ambulanced to an alternative isolation centre in Guadalupe. The facilities there were very basic but at least we had a bed for the night. However, the facilities were not very isolated and we shared a former school classroom with 6 other people who were presumably isolated for various reasons.
The very helpful staff at the isolation centre were able to direct us to an isolation hotel that would accept me. The isolation hotel, In & Go is great improvement compared to the government centre but could be better. We are quarantined here for a mandatory 10 days.
having come to terms with the shifting sands of the Cebu Restrictions, Bohol has announced a total travel ban to and from the island from 6th August until 20th. So, we will still be stuck in Cebu when we are released from isolation. Presumably, we will be able to check in to a normal hotel.
On returning to Bohol, providing that there are no more positive swab tests, we can look forward to 14 more days in quarantine. Hopefully we can serve that sentence at home.
I remain totally asymptomatic several days after the test. I am fairly sure that the test result is a false positive. I was informed by a helpful employee at the test centre that, of the 200 people tested on the same day as me, around 60, that's 30%, tested positive, most of which were fully vaccinated.
So, here I am, being detained against my will and being denied the opportunity for a second swab test.
Any ideas folks?
Steve