(Eagle News)–Over 600 Filipinos repatriated from Barbados and the United Arab Emirates recently arrived in Clark, Pampanga on Tuesday, June 16, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
According to the DFA, the first plane, Philippine Airlines Flight PR8117, arrived carried 347 seafarers who served as crew of the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) ships Harmony of the Seas, Celebrity Equinox, and Serenade of the Seas in Barbados.
The second plane, Emirates Flight EK2572, brought home 318 stranded Filipinos from the UAE.
The DFA said the repatriates underwent thermal scanning and RT-PCR testing upon arrival, in accordance with with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 29.
They were later transported to designated quarantine facilities while they await for the results.
“The repatriation is a joint effort of the Philippine government agencies and the private sector to assist distressed Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the DFA said.
The DFA said it repatriated a total of 1,696 Filipinos on Tuesday apart from the 665, with over 1000 arriving in Manila.
This brings the total number of repatriates to 45,865 since February 2020, the DFA said.