Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 18) – The government continues work to bring more Filipinos home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced the arrival of 863 Filipino seafarers from Miami, Florida at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The seafarers arrived Saturday morning aboard two Boeing-747 Wamos flights, chartered by Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings, Miami.
This comes a month after the first Wamos repatriation flight from San Francisco, California.
The DFA assured that appropriate airport medical protocols and checks were conducted by the Department of Health and Bureau of Quarantine upon their arrival.
“The repatriates shall undergo a mandatory 14-day facility-based quarantine,” the DFA said in a statement.
The Filipino seafarers are crew members of Norwegian Epic, Gem, Star, Dawn, Encore and Oceania’s Sirena and Marina.
“This morning’s arrivals push the number of our repatriated seafarers above the 12,600 mark and we expect more arrivals in the coming days,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said in a statement.
The DFA has also coordinated the repatriation of some 3,159 land-based workers. As of Saturday, about 15,801 Filipino workers have been assisted by the department since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The agency said five more flights are scheduled to arrive from the United States in the next two days.
