Pinoys repatriated since COVID-19 outbreak reach 174,039

MANILA, Philippines — With 9,671 overseas Filipinos (OFs) returning from different parts of the world last week, the total number of Filipinos repatriated since the COVID-19 outbreak in February is now at 174,039.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that out of the total number, 61,716 OFs or 35.46 percent are sea-based while 112,323 (64.54 percent) are land-based.

Last week, the DFA brought home more than 7,500 Filipinos via 27 special commercial repatriation flights. Eleven of these flights arrived from the UAE, seven from Saudi Arabia, four from Qatar, three from Bahrain, and one each from Kuwait and Oman.

The return of Filipino seafarers also continues as the DFA facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,800 sea-based workers, including a Filipino fisherman who drifted to the waters of Central Sulawesi last April.

The DFA also extended assistance to a cancer patient who finally arrived home in Manila on board a special commercial repatriation flight from Thailand last Wednesday.

The DFA said it will continue to bring home Filipinos abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of COVID-positive Filipinos returning home from other countries is now close to 7,500, the Department of Health (DOH) revealed.

Based on the DOH’s “COVID 19 Philippine Situationer,” the number of returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) who tested positive for the virus reached 7,490 as of Sept. 11 – of which 3,950 are land-based, while 3,540 are sea-based workers.

The DOH said 856 of the COVID-positive ROFs are still admitted in hospitals while 6,366 have recovered and five have succumbed to the infection.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 338,753 ROFs have arrived in the country. Of the figure, 333,624 have already been released from quarantine facilities.

The DOH said 2,018 more Filipinos staying overseas have tested positive for COVID-19.

The figure, DOH said, represents only 19 percent of the total 10,151 Filipinos abroad confirmed to be COVID-positive as reported by the DFA.

The DOH also reported that there are 261 foreign nationals in the country who have been confirmed positive for COVID. – Mayen Jaymalin