(Eagle News) – The country’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has approved the plan of the Department of Foreign Affairs to repatriate 148 overseas Filipinos from Macau within the week.
This was according to the DOH which leads the task force.
In a release, the DOH said that 48 active members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will also be repatriated via commercial flight.
But the 148 overseas Filipinos from Macau will be repatriated via a chartered plane.
“Returning OFs (overseas Filipinos) will undergo the prescribed screening and quarantine measures being implemented by the Philippine government,” the DOH said.
Earlier, some OFWs in Macau had expressed apprehension regarding the coronavirus situation there.
As of Tuesday, March 4, the number of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases remained at 10, the same figure reported about a month ago.
Macau has not detected any new cases for almost a month.
But the vast majority of the 35 million tourists visiting each year are mainland Chinese drawn to the city’s casinos.
In mainland China, confirmed COVID-19 cases have hit 80,151. Of this number, 2,943 were fatal
