Seafarers stranded in Manila return to CDO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Forty six overseas Filipino workers who were stranded in Metro Manila and took a government mercy voyage back home arrived in Cagayan de Oro City around midnight on Thursday, April 30.

The seafarers took 2Go Travel’s M/V Saint Leo the Great, which was arranged by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for nearly 600 seafarers from the Visayas and Mindanao who were either stranded in Manila or arrived in the capital during the enhanced community quarantine imposed by the national government to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus.

M/V Saint Michael the Archangel of 2Go Travels took 305 seafarers to Bohol, Cebu, Dumaguete, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Negros Oriental, Ozamiz, Zamboanga City, and Zamboanga del Sur.

Before arriving at the Macabalan port here, the M/V Saint Leo the Great brought home seafarers to Ilo-ilo and Bacolod in Western Visayas. (READ: Coronavirus pandemic forces over 12,000 Filipino workers to return to PH)

The seafarers were picked up by representatives from their local government units.

CDO’s health cluster took 30 of 46 returning workers for a second round of a 14-day quarantine in the city’s isolation units.

The rest of the seafarers were taken to the towns of Medina in Eastern Misamis Oriental, Initao, Manticao, and Naawan in the western part of Misamis Oriental. Another seaman was taken to Manolo Fortich town in Bukidnon.

Dr Magdalena Juan, a member of the CDO health cluster, said that the OFWs have completed the 14-day quarantine while in Manila and all of them have tested negative for the coronavirus based on the documents they presented.

CDO’s City Health Office (CHO) immediately briefed the seafarers about what to expect during the 2-week quarantine period. CHO doctors also examined the seafarers. At the isolation units, the seafarers are monitored by health care workers.

Mayor Oscar Moreno said that the city government, with the support of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), will take care of the seafarers while they are at the city isolation units.

The city government is running 6 CIUs which have a 400-bed capacity. There are more than 200 residents here who are under quarantine after they came home from various parts of the country. – Rappler.com