BACK HOME – 341 Filipino seafarers of Costa Smeralda in Marseilles, France arrive in Manila on Wednesday, April 22. (Photo courtesy of DFA-OUMWA)
MANILA, Philippines — Five hundred seventy four overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Saudi Arabia and France returned home on Wednesday amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Thursday.
The latest batch of repatriates is made up of 233 land-based overseas from Jeddah and Riyadh and 341 seafarers of Costa Smeralda in Marseilles, France.
The Filipino workers from Saudi Arabia arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport via a Saudia Airlines chartered flight on Wednesday.
The Saudi Arabian government earlier allowed employers to repatriate their workers who wish to return home amid the pandemic, the DFA said.
The seafarers from France arrived via a separate flight on the same day.
Upon disembarkation, the repatriates were subjected to mandatory health assessment by the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine (DOH-BOQ), the DFA said.
They were then transported to their designated facilities where the will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
They will also be subjected to a rapid antibody testing for COVID-19.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1262088/all-filipinos-returning-to-ph-to-undergo-rapid-testing-for-coronavirus
According to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola, another 35,000 OFWs are expected to be repatriated in the coming days.
Latest data from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) showed that a total of 1,114 Filipinos overseas have contracted COVID-19.
A total of 660 overseas Filipinos are still undergoing treatment, while 295 have recovered.