DFA: Almost 300 repatriates arrive from Cayman Islands

Photo by DFA-OUMWA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that 295 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their family members from the Cayman Islands and London were repatriated to Manila on Monday.

The OFWs are composed of 287 repatriates from Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands, and eight Filipinos stranded in London, the DFA noted.

The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, mounted an “airbridge” flight to provide an opportunity for foreign contract workers to return to their home countries amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the repatriates went through full documentation and briefing on current safety protocols prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Diseases as well as RT-PCR COVID-19 testing.

They will be temporarily housed at the Bureau of Quarantine-approved facilities for their mandatory quarantine while they await the result of their RT-PCR test.

There are 2,617 Filipinos abroad infected with the novel coronavirus, of whom, at least 1,400 are receiving treatment, 889 recovered and 328 died.

To date, over 5.4 million people worldwide have been infected by the virus that originated from Hubei, China.