More COVID-19 tests for OFWs in provinces eyed

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Sunday backed the conduct of additional diagnostic tests on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have returned to their respective provinces in a bid to stop the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque pointed out that although an OFW had already tested negative for COVID-19 before leaving Metro Manila, the possibility of infection still remained while the OFW was in transit.

“Between the time a test is conducted and the time of arrival of an OFW or anyone traveling, the possibility of infection remains,” Roque said.

The Palace official reminded the public to “exercise all the precautions advised by health authorities during travel.”

“Additional safety measures at the provincial or [local government unit] level are likewise necessary to ensure that one is truly healthy and devoid of COVID19,” Roque said.

He made the remarks as more OFWs, who were ferried back to their respective provinces, turned out to be positive for the deadly virus.

Last month, President Duterte ordered government agencies concerned to bring home more than 24,000 OFWs to their provinces and to expedite the release of their COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test results.

This was amid complaints that OFWs were stranded in quarantine facilities and were waiting too long for their test results.More than 42,000 OFWs are scheduled to arrive this month and will undergo testing and mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

The government has also decided to decongest quarantine and testing centers in Metro Manila by opening up international airports and testing facilities in other regions.

31,700 repatriated

Since May 25, the government has sent a total of 31,700 repatriated OFWs back to their hometowns, according to Administrator Hans Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Government rules require them to undergo COVID-19 testing and a 14-day quarantine upon arrival in the Philippines.

But many of them had been staying in isolation for longer than two weeks because of the delayed release of their test results.

Cacdac said the Owwa was coordinating with the Department of Transportation to arrange the OFWs’ trips to the provinces.

“We continue to send them home, The process is simple, the formula is simple,” he said at the Laging Handa briefing.

Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said the government was improving the system to fast-track the processing of the repatriated OFWs, given that more are expected to arrive in the coming months. It would start getting the OFWs’ data before they depart for the Philippines, said Galvez.

The country would also open up more airports for the flights of the OFWs to ease the congestion at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, he said.
Officials are working to correct shortcomings and are trying to control the number of OFWs arriving daily, he added.

“We apologize because there really are a lot of arriving OFWs. Now we are controlling it so that at least we would have regulated inbound passengers at more or less 1,500 a day,” he explained.