(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs has repatriated 257 Filipinos from Uzbekistan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The DFA said the special chartered flight carrying mostly documented overseas contract workers arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Saturday evening.
The overseas Filipinos had requested the repatriation for fear they would contract COVID-19 in their workplaces.
The DFA said the Philippine Airlines flight, which also carried the remains of a deceased Overseas Filipino Worker, was made possible even in the absence of an embassy or a consulate in Uzbekistan.
DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said there was a total lockdown as well, which means commercial flights were not allowed.
The DFA said all repatriates were tested prior to the flight, and they all tested negative.
Upon arrival, the Filipinos were still subjected to “appropriate medical protocols required by the Department of Health,” the DFA said.
They are also required to undergo quarantine procedures in accordance with the omnibus guidelines established by the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
