Over 1,500 repatriated overseas Filipinos cleared of COVID-19 threat

MANILA, Philippines — Over 1,500 overseas Filipinos repatriated during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have been cleared to go home after showing no symptoms of the disease during their mandatory facility-based quarantine.

This was according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth weekly report to Congress on the implementation of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, which granted him additional powers to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the report, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) has so far assigned 30 teams to 44 hotel-quarantine facilities to oversee the mandatory 14-day quarantine of returning overseas Filipinos.

“As of 16 April 2020, 1,571 individuals were cleared or had completed their quarantine,” the report said.

It added that the hotel-quarantine facilities had accommodated 4,440 overseas Filipinos from April 10 to 16.

According to the latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), 990 overseas Filipinos in 42 countries have contracted the disease.

Of the number, 584 are still undergoing treatment while 263 have already been discharged from hospitals or have recovered.

There are 143 fatalities recorded so far.

Over 18,000 overseas Filipinos have returned home since the DFA facilitated the repatriation of 30 Filipinos from Wuhan, China in February.

Filipinos who have been repatriated were either transported to different facilities for their mandatory quarantine or were just required to undergo a home-based quarantine based on the assessment of the BOQ.

But on April 13, the COVID-19 task force required all Filipinos returning from abroad to undergo a 14-day, facility-based quarantine.

/atm