Locsin appeals to hotels to accept arriving seafarers: 1,468 expected 31 March-1April; 244 Costa Luminosa seafarers repatriated

Locsin appeals to hotels to accept arriving seafarers
Roy Mabasa March 31, 2020 https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/03/31/locsin-appeals-to-hotels-to-accept-arr...

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. on Tuesday suggested that President Duterte should invoke the power to seize the operations of any hotel that will refuse to accommodate hundreds of returning Filipino seafarers who were displaced from their jobs following the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide.

There are an estimated 1,468 seafarers that are expected to arrive in Manila between tonight, March 31, and tomorrow via chartered flights from different parts of the world. The majority of the repatriates are crewmembers of foreign cruise ships that were grounded by the pandemic.

In a tweet, Locsin said he got a word from the Department of Health that one hotel that is supposed to accommodate the more than 500 seafarers who are arriving from Miami, Florida via Addis Ababa on Wednesday morning, backed out.

“Five hundred seafarers are being brought in two Ethiopian Air flights to Manila, arriving tomorrow and going to quarantine-accredited hotels. One hotel, DOH says, has backed out. The President has the power to seize any hotel. That power must be invoked,” he said.

In a separate tweet, Locsin appealed to the hotels to accept the returning seafarers who will have to undergo the 14-day quarantine upon arrival.

“I don’t want our seafarers to sleep in the streets. They’ve had a hard life. Please I appeal to the hotels. Please take them in. We are all in this together,” he said.

Locsin said the cruise liners are the ones paying for the flights and hotel accommodations of the returning ship crewmembers.

244 Costa Luminosa seafarers repatriated
Genivi Factao April 1, 2020 https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/01/business/maritime-business/244-co...

Magsaysay Maritime Corp. (MMC) said the 244 Filipino crew members of Costa Luminosa and the six Filipino tourists arrived safe in the country from Italy over the weekend.

The MMC, in coordination with Costa Cruises said none of the repatriated crew members of the Costa Luminosa tested positive to coronavirus disease 2019.

But they were undergoing a 14-day quarantine at an undisclosed facility under the supervision of the Department of Health (DoH) medical team.

Magsaysay said the company has valued the privacy and confidentiality of the identities of crewmembers and their families. Magsaysay, together with Costa Cruises continue to closely coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Foreign Affairs, DoH, and other Inter-Agency Task Force agencies.

Magsaysay was in constant communication with the families of repatriated crewmembers, and has updated them of the developments and status of their loved ones.

In addition to pre-flight screening for symptoms, the DOH officials at the airport conducted health checks to all repatriated crew members prior to boarding the buses going to a designated quarantine facility.

Costa Cruises ships, as a precautionary measure conduct screening of temperature of all guests, visitors, and crew members and check for any flu-like symptoms. As part of its health protocol, crew members occupy guest cabins, at one crewmember per cabin. All crewmembers were provided with food and were treated well.

If, any of the crew members would be tested positive, he would be medically disembarked and brought to a hospital for further treatment and medical care.

Any crew member who have had close contact with a crew member or guest who tested positive were also brought to a hotel in Italy for quarantine with medical support for observation. Fortunately, none of the Filipino crew members tested positive of the virus.