MANILA, Philippines — Two hundred forty-six Filipino seafarers from a cruise ship in the United Kingdom were repatriated on Black Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
The foreign affairs department said in a statement that the 246 repatriated seafarers from MS Ventura brought the total number of repatriated Filipinos to 11,394.
The DFA first started its repatriation operations when it coordinated up with the Department of Health to evacuate Filipinos from Wuhan City of Hubei province in China in February this year.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said the seafarers will undertake medical protocols such as mandatory quarantine to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19.
“They are also required to undergo facility-based quarantine following the joint assessment of the DOH-BOQ and the Bureau of International Health Cooperation (BIHC),” Arriola said.