MANILA, Philippines — At least 4,600 overseas Filipinos will be back in the Philippines in the coming weeks amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that has so far affected over 200 countries worldwide.
According to President Rodrigo Duterte’s first weekly report to Congress on the government’s response to the pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has been coordinating closely with its various foreign service posts on the repatriation of at least 4,600 Filipino in the next two weeks.
This as the DFA continues to maintain “its close links with the World Health Organization (WHO) and foreign governments” to “ensure timely exchange of critical information, such as the status of Filipino nationals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, provision of the necessary assistance and facilitation of their safe repatriation.”
At least 1,806 Filipinos have so been repatriated amid the ongoing global health crisis, the report noted.
The latest figures from the DFA showed that 348 Filipinos abroad have so far tested positive for the disease.
Of this number, 228 are still undergoing treatment while 111 have recovered or have been discharged.
There are so far nine recorded deaths.
Globally, the virus has already infected more than 723,300 people and killed more than 33,990 as of March 30. Meanwhile, over 151,800 patients have recovered so far from the disease, which is caused by a coronavirus tagged as SARS-CoV-2. The new coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan City in China’s Hubei province in late 2019.