Red Cross swab-tests marooned passengers at Manila port
MANILA, Philippines — Locally-stranded individuals (LSIs) at the Manila North Port were swab-tested for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for free by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), its chairman said Friday.
“After seeing the current situation of our locally stranded individuals at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) PMO-NCR North Port in Port Area in Manila, we immediately instructed our staff to swab all of them for FREE to ensure that they are safe from the virus,” PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon said in Facebook post.
https://www.facebook.com/senatorgordon/photos/pcb.10157752392582831/10157752392432831/?type=3&theater&_rdc=1&_rdr
“We also provided them with hygiene kits, conducted welfare activities and installed tents as their temporary shelter,” Gordon added.
According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), a total of 203 LSIs are currently at the port area.
The LSIs, who are bound for Cebu, Bacolod, Butuan, Iloilo, Palawan, and Dumaguete, are scheduled set to leave on July 12, the DOTr added.
Article continues after this advertisementOn June 28, the government suspended the repatriation of LSIs to parts of the Visayas for two weeks due to the rising number of its COVID-19 cases and requests from some local government units.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Philippines 38,805 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday afternoon.
Ten thousand six hundred seventy three patients have recovered, while 1,274 others have died.
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