TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – At least 161 Bohol residents, who had been stranded in Leyte because of COVID-19 travel bans, have returned home on Sunday (March 22) yet.
Augustus Escobia, provincial information officer, said the passengers were brought back to Bohol through a “mercy mission” arranged by Bohol officials.
“They are all safe, well-provided and stable,” said Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez, spokesperson of the Technical Working Group (TWG) on New Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Upon arrival at the Ubay port in Bohol, the residents were transferred to buses and brought to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Complex in Ubay town for 14-day quarantine.
The local government would provide the residents’ needs.
The residents came from Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon and were returning to Bohol but stranded in the town of Bato, Leyte province when their boat trips failed to make it to Bohol before March 16, the day the province was put on community quarantine, or lockdown.
Liza Lecaros, municipal social welfare and development officer, said P300,000 in cash, food and hygiene kits were given to the residents.