The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomes 278 distressed overseas Filipino workers who arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Image: Courtesy of the DFA.
MANILA, Philippines — Almost 500 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Singapore and Qatar were able to return home, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
In a statement on Thursday, the DFA said that the first batch of OFWs, 278 from Qatar, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1 at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Some 190 distressed OFWs from Singapore returned home after being repatriated by the DFA on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Image: Courtesy of the DFA.
The next batch, consisting of 190 OFWs from Singapore, arrived at Naia Terminal 2 later that afternoon.
All repatriates underwent thermal scanning and RT-PCR testing before being transported to the designated hotels serving as quarantine facilities, the DFA said.
With the latest batches of OFWs who returned home, the DFA added that it has repatriated more than 28,589 Filipinos.
The COVID-19, which is considered as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, has infected 5.1 million worldwide, of which 331,021 died.
In the Philippines, there are now 13,434 COVID-19 cases, where 846 have died while 3,000 fully recovered.
JPV