1,468 Pinoy seafarers arrive for home quarantine; 4,000 also expected until next week

1,468 Pinoy seafarers arrive for home quarantine
Rudy Santos April 2, 2020 - https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/02/2004917/1468-pinoy-seafare...

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the pandemic, 1,468 Filipino seafarers arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from various countries, and they would be placed on 14-day quarantine as part of precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

An estimated 4,000 seafarers are also expected to arrive in the coming days until next week.

Some 881 Filipino seamen arrived at NAIA early Wednesday on two chartered Ethiopian Airlines flights from Orlando, Florida.

They included 436 crewmembers of the cruise ships Costa Favolosa and Costa Magica and 445 seafarers from Norwegian Cruises’ ships Dawn and Encore.

The charter planes parked quite a distance from Terminal 1 and were met by representatives of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Health and Transportation, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and immigration officials who processed their travel documents.

The temperature of the seafarers was checked by quarantine staff using portable scanners before they were allowed to board buses for their quarantine facilities.

Local manning agency Philippine Transmarine Carriers is still negotiating with the BOQ on a designated quarantine site due to the large number of Mediterrean Shipping Co. crew that also arrived on board separate commercial flights.

Meanwhile, two more batches of seafarers were expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon: the MSC lines from Miami, M/V Divina, M/V Marigivilla and M/V Arminain on a KLM charter with 446 passengers on board.

From Sao Paolo, Brazil, 88 crew of M/V Seaview were scheduled to arrive on board a regular Qatar Airways flight at around 4:30 p.m.

Sources said the newly arrived seafarers would be billeted in hotels in Manila for their 14-day quarantine period.

Most of the seafarers have been isolated for the past three weeks on board their ships.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) will mount a single round trip flight from Manila to London on Saturday to transport British citizens and bring back Filipino passengers on the return flight. – With Pia Lee-Brago

About 900 Filipino seamen come home from United States
April 1, 2020 | https://www.bworldonline.com/about-900-filipino-seamen-come-home-from-un...

A TOTAL of 881 Filipino seamen came home from the US on Wednesday amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic that has infected about 862,000 and killed at least 42,510 people worldwide, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

Of the total, 445 were crewmen from the Norwegian Cruises Dawn and Encore, while the remaining 436 were from the M/V Magica and M/V Favolosa, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The repatriated seafarers shall undergo a mandatory 14-day facility-based quarantine monitored by the Bureau of Quarantine,” DFA said.

The virus has killed more than 4,000 people in the US, surpassing China.

DFA is working on the return of at least 4,600 Filipinos in the next two weeks, according to a presidential palace report to Congress on March 30.

Earlier 370 crewmen on three cruise ships docked in Italy, where more than 12,000 people have died, arrived at the weekend.

DFA said it was also helping to send home foreign tourists stranded in the Philippines.

“Last German flight out planned for this weekend to take last tourists stranded in Palawan, Siargao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Bohol, Caticlan, Surigao, Tacloban, Mindanao and Bacolod to Cebu and Manila,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a social media post. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Over 800 Filipino seafarers from cruise ships docked in US are back, quarantined
Apr 01 2020 https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/01/20/over-800-filipino-seafarers-from-...

MANILA - More than 800 Filipino seafarers repatriated from cruise ships docked in the United States were placed under quarantine after arriving in the Philippines on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the seafarers cleared medical tests before arriving in the country but were placed in isolation to prevent a possible transmission of COVID-19.

The Bureau of Quarantine is monitoring the repatriates in a facility designated by government for persons under observation for any signs of COVID-19.

Earlier in the day, 445 Filipino sailors from the Norwegian cruise ships Dawn and Encore arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. At least 436 Filipino crew from the MV Magica and MV Favolosa ships docked in the US also arrived that day.

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Sarah Lou Arriola said they will continue to respond to calls for help from Filipinos stranded abroad due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the weekend, around 370 Filipino crew from three cruise ships in virus-stricken Italy were also repatriated and went on quarantine.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac meanwhile appealed to local government officials not to discriminate against repatriated Filipinos, especially those from places hit severely by COVID-19.--Report from Michael Delizo, ABS-CBN News