Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 5)— Some private passenger vessels will soon be converted into quarantine facilities for returning overseas workers and seafarers, as the government gears up for the arrival of more Filipino evacuees amid the global COVID-19 crisis.
In a statement Sunday, the Department of Transportation said it has partnered with shipping and logistics firm 2GO, with the company already agreeing to turn two of its vessels into “quarantine ships” that can house 1,500 patients.
The department added the temporary quarantine centers will be operational by next week.
The project will be implemented in close coordination with the Health Department and the Bureau of Quarantine. DOTr noted the move is also expected to ease the burden of hospitals that are now operating at full capacity, due to the disease outbreak.
“Most hospitals in Metro Manila have already pleaded for help in attending to COVID-19 patients. Some of them can no longer accept more patients due to overcapacity. And that is what we are trying to address here,” DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement.
Thousands of Filipino seafarers from different parts of the world have already arrived home in separate batches as part of the government’s COVID-19 repatriation efforts.
In the Philippines, there are now 3,246 cases of the infectious disease, including 152 fatalities and 64 recoveries.
CNN Philippines Correspondent Crissy Dimatulac contributed to this report.
