Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Tuesday announced that Overseas Filipino Workers returning to the country would be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a quarantine facility before being allowed to proceed to their homes.
The Palace official said that according to IATF Resolution No. 26, “all arriving Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), whether land-based or sea-based, shall be required to undergo a mandatory fourteen-day facility-based quarantine.”
DFA to date has repatriated 16,682 OFWs, of whom 13,213 are seafarers and 3,469 are land-based.
In accordance with Department of Health (DOH) guidelines regarding COVID-19 testing, OFWs will be subject to COVID-19 rapid antibody testing.
Nograles pointed out that sea-based OFWs onboard cruise ships who have been issued with a Clean Bill of Health by the Bureau of Quarantine––upon presentation of a certificate of completion of 14-day quarantine issued at the point of origin immediately before departure––will also be subjected to rapid antibody testing and shall be managed in accordance with the DOH testing guidelines.
The DFA has to date facilitated the repatriation of 16,682 OFWs, of whom 13,213 are seafarers and 3,469 are land-based.
Nograles had earlier revealed testing guidelines for Filipinos returning from abroad. Under the guidelines, all overseas Filipinos, including OFWs, that come from countries with COVID-19 community transmissions are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Those undergoing the mandatory quarantine will be subject to rapid antibody tests before and after their quarantine, with appropriate action taken before they are discharged depending on the outcome of the tests.