Pinoys aboard Diamond Princess to be repatriated on Tuesday —Locsin

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday said the Filipinos on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan will be repatriated on Tuesday.

“So far 25 Feb is repatriation day,” he posted on Twitter.

This was despite a report from Agence France-Presse saying Japan revealed that 23 passengers mistakenly left the ship before testing. 

A Japanese woman who disembarked from the cruise ship on Wednesday later tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to her home in Tochigi Prefecture.

According to the AFP report on Sunday, a 14-day quarantine is expected to start for the more than 1,000 crew still onboard the cruise ship.

Japan Health Minister Katsunobu Kato apologized for the "operational mistake."

"We deeply regret that our operational mistake caused the situation," Kato said, adding that the passengers would be tested again.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ed Meñez on Sunday said the 14-day quarantine can be done in Japan or in the Philippines.

According to Meñez, the test results will come out on Tuesday too.

“Our government has decided to bring them home but hoping that all are declared COVID-free before doing so. We expect all the test results will be issued by 25 February,” he told GMA News Online.

“Those already declared COVID-positive are in Japanese health facilities and will be brought back after they recover,” he added.

According to DFA on Saturday, 49 out of the 538 Filipino crew and passengers aboard the said cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19. "Two of them were successfully treated and discharged," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said, while the others are admitted in hospitals in Japan.

The repatriated Filipinos will be brought to the Athletes' Village in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac for their 14-day quarantine period. 

The DFA is already coordinating with Japanese authorities for clearances, permits for disembarkation, land transfer and chartered flights for the repatriation of the Filipinos.

As of Sunday, the death toll in China from the COVID-19 epidemic rose past 2,400.

COVID-19 has already spread to more than 25 countries. —KG, GMA News