Nearly 900 Pinoy seafarers repatriated from Florida —DFA

Nearly 900 Filipino seafarers from Florida were repatriated back to the Philippines on Monday amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

In a statement, the DFA said a total of 867 Filipino crew members from the Norwegian Pearl, Sky, Star, Sun, and Escape from the United States arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 9 a.m. aboard Wamos Air Flights PLM 420 and PLM 922.

The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., Department of Health, Bureau of Immigration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Transportation, and local manning agency CF Sharp facilitated the return of the seafarers.

The repatriates underwent thorough mandatory inspection and appropriate safety protocols supervised by the Bureau of Quarantine before being brought to their designated quarantine facilities.

The DFA said this is the third straight week since the agency facilitated the series of repatriations that followed the “catastrophic economic impact” due to the pandemic.

The arrival of the repatriated workers brings the total number of Filipinos who safely returned to the country to nearly 18,000.

Latest data from the DFA showed that a total of 984 Filipinos abroad have tested positive for the viral disease, including 140 deaths and 259 recoveries.—AOL, GMA News