The Department of Foreign Affairs breached the 16,000 mark of repatriated seafarers on Sunday, April 19, 2020, as two consecutive flights carrying a total of 571 Filipino crew of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship of the Norwegian Cruise Line were brought home from Orlando, Florida to Manila.
Implementing the stringent quarantine protocol, the repatriates underwent a health inspection by the Bureau of Quarantine upon their disembarkation.
They will also be made to undergo a 14-day facility-based quarantine as mandated by the Department of Health (DOH).
With the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. and the local manning agency at the forefront, the latest batch of repatriated Filipino workers continues to reflect the whole-of-government approach as the DFA and its major partner agencies, the DOH, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Transportation (DoTR) remain united towards bringing home distressed OFWs brought about by the COVID pandemic.
The Norwegian Cruise Line paid for the chartered flights of the repatriated Filipino cruise ship crew while the CF Sharp, the local manning agency of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship, provided land transportation to bring the repatriates to their assigned DOH-approved and inspected quarantine facilities.
The repatriates will remain under close monitoring of their manning agency and the DOH.