GO: FILIPINOS IN HUBEI TO BE FLOWN HOME SOON
SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go said on Thursday the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Wuhan city and other parts of Hubei province in China might be repatriated “any time soon.” Go bared he was coordinating with concerned government agencies to hasten the repatriation of OFWs who want to return home amid the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease outbreak in China.
“They will come [home] soon. Anytime in the next few days, and we are now preparing possible quarantine areas,” the senator said in an interview during his visit to fire victims in Quezon City.
“Once China agrees to it, it (repatriation) is ready, we will bring them home immediately. We are concerned about their situation there. No amount of money can pay for their loneliness ang fear in other country,” he added. Go, who heads the Senate Committee on Health, said Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs Vince Dizon was coordinationg with the Department of Health ( DoH) in preparing the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City, Tarlac as a quarantine area for repatriated Filipinos. “Vince Dizon has offered BCDA with all of its facilities at the Athletes’ Village. They are prepared to accommodate the Filipinos coming from China,” he added.
He said New Clark City was an ideal quarantine site because it is near the Clark International Airport.
According to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Re- Emerging Infectious Diseases, there are 45 Filipinos who will be repatriated from Wuhan.
The required documents for the repatriation are being finalized with help from Foreign Affairs officials and Chinese authorities.
The repatriation is tentatively scheduled on February 8 and the repatriates are expected to arrive in the Philippines the following day, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Helping process the arriving Filipinos are doctors and nurses from the Health department. Personal protective equipment will be provided to the team.
The task force said the repatriates must have Public Health
Clearance, as well as Customs, Immigration and Quarantine clearance from China. Briefing and counseling for the repatriates will be conducted by the Philippine Embassy.
A chartered commercial plane will fly the Filipinos back home.
From Clark International Airport, the repatriates will be transported to the Athletes’ Village. Pre- arranged rooms will be assigned to them, packed food will be served by the DoH Regional Office and routine nursing care will be available for their health care needs.
Returning Filipinos with developing cases will be brought to the nearest referral hospital. Five DoHrun hospitals in Region 3 will deploy medical teams for the whole duration of the repatriates’ stay at New Clark City. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration will be in charge of the send-off after 14 days of quarantine.