MANILA, Philippines — Government officials are
finalizing plans to bring home Filipinos onboard a coronavirus-infected cruise ship in Japan as global concerns grow over the spread of the deadly disease.
Coronavirus cases climbed to 355 in the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked off Yokohama, Japan despite passengers being confined to their cabins since February 3 for a 14-day quarantine period.
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Twenty-seven of the people aboard the vessel who contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are Filipinos, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario
Vergeire said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases is still discussing plans for the evacuation of over 500 Filipinos in the vessel.
“We are still on the discussion and planning
stage so we will be providing information once everything is
finalized,”
Vergeire said in a press briefing Monday.
“[The Japanese Embassy and the cruise ship] are requesting if we can already do the repatriation once the quarantine period is over,” she added.
The United States repatriated its citizens from the quarantined ship. Other nations such as Canada, Australia and Hong Kong are preparing to follow suit.
Quarantine
Vergeire said the government is considering putting the Filipinos who will
be flown home from the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess under quarantine once they reach Philippine soil.
The DOH official added the inter-agency task force will still discuss the facility where the repatriates will
be quarantined.
Filipino workers repatriated from virus epicenter Wuhan, China arrived in the Philippines a week ago. The repatriates along with government workers who are part of the repatriation team and plane crew members are being quarantined at New Clark City in Tarlac.
“All 49 repatriates in New Clark City show no signs or symptoms of respiratory illness,”
Vergeire said.
Latest figure from the Health department showed that 453 patients under investigation in the country have tested negative for COVID-19.
The coronavirus that emerged in central China late last year has spread to nearly 30 locations outside mainland China. It has infected
more than 70,000 individuals and killed nearly 1,800. — with report from Agence France-Presse