MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has climbed up to 59, a Department of Health (DOH) official announced on Monday.
“To date, 59 out of the 538 overseas Filipinos from the cruise ship had been confirmed with COVID-19,” DOH Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
Two of the confirmed cases have already recovered since they were isolated, Vergeire added.
Malacañang earlier announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved the repatriation of 497 Filipinos aboard the quarantined cruise ship.
They are set to return home by Tuesday, Feb. 25, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.
Vergeire noted that those who will manifest signs and symptoms of respiratory illnesses will be brought to hospital while those who are asymptomatic during the flight will be transferred to the quarantine facility in New Clark City.
Apart from the 59 Filipinos who tested positive for COVID-19, four other Filipinos overseas were also infected with the virus— one in Hong Kong, two in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one in Singapore.