440 Filipino cruise ship workers from US repatriated amid COVID-19

The DFA welcomed 440 repatriated OFWs on Friday morning. Image: DFA-OUMWA

MANILA, Philippines— At least 440 Filipino seafarers of the Norwegian Pearl, Sky, and Sun cruise ships from the United States were repatriated Friday morning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

They are the first of five batches of repatriations scheduled on Friday, which seek to bring home over a thousand overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the U.S. and Europe, the DFA said in a release on Friday.

The OFWs will temporarily stay in Manila to undergo mandatory quarantine before returning to their hometowns as part of COVID-19 health protocols.

“As the repatriations crossed its 11th straight day, the DFA and partner agencies, including DOH-BOQ [Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine], DOLE-OWWA [Department of Labor and Employment-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] and DOTr [Department of Transportation] stand ready to assist our OFWs through this COVID-19 pandemic,” the DFA said.

Over 742 OFWs from the U.S. and Kuwait on Thursday also arrived in the country. More than 10,000 OFWs meanwhile have been sent home since February.

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