35 stranded OFWs, 17 BFP recruits, who arrive in Negros Occidental, to be quarantined

BACOLOD CITY –– At least 35 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and 17 recruits of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) arrived in Negros Occidental on Tuesday.

They were stranded in Cebu after travel restrictions were enforced to avoid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said measures have been put in place to ensure that these Negrenses are not infected by the virus.

“We will not allow them to roam freely and mingle with society. We have to isolate them first,” Diaz said.

All the 35 OFWs and BFP personnel will be quarantined for 14 days at the Yolanda housing village in EB Magalona town.

Upon their arrival, they would be subjected to COVID-19 rapid tests so that the provincial government would know their health condition, Diaz said.

Swab tests, he added, would also be taken for official test results from the Department of Health laboratory in Iloilo.

Diaz said an administrative officer, five nurses, and 14 policemen would take care of the medical and security needs of the group from Cebu.

“These precautions are being taken to ensure the protection of the families of the OFWs from COVID-19 and to prevent a series of infections, he said.

Dr. Ma. Sophia Pulmones, DOH Western Visayas spokesperson, said all returning OFWs must be placed under facility-based quarantine for 14 days as part of the health department protocol.

“They should not be placed under home quarantine,” she added.

Diaz said they were also working on the return of the rest of the stranded Negrense OFWs and other workers in Cebu, Manila, Iloilo, and other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has been distributing P15.5 million worth of rice, at 400 sacks for every town and city of Negros Occidental as assistance to their residents, Diaz said.