THE government has allowed foreign cruise ships manned by Filipinos to dock in Manila ports and its crew members to disembark and go home to their families.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, concurrent spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases spokesperson (IATF-EID), on Thursday said the decision is contained in Resolution No. 24 recently approved by the task force.
Guidelines related to the implementation of the resolution will be issued by member agencies of the IATF’s Sub-Task Group for the Repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers.
Nograles said passengers and crew members, whether Filipinos or foreigners, will be required to go on a 14-day quarantine aboard the ships before they will be allowed to disembark.
The government’s decision gives relief to foreign cruise ships which have remained at sea since February when the coronavirus disease (COVID0-19) broke out in the country. The virus which originated in China has infected some 2 million persons worldwide.
Following the infection of passengers and crew members of several cruise ships, many ports around the world have turned away luxury liners as a precaution against more COVID-19 cases in their countries.
Nograles said that aside from Filipino seafarers, foreign crew members and passengers will also be allowed to disembark after the mandatory 14-day quarantine period for the “sole purpose of taking outbound flights to their final destination abroad.”
PCG QUARANTINE SHIPS
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has converted two of its ships into quarantine facilities and are now serving 90 Filipino seafarers repatriated from South Korea, Indonesia, and Qatar.
Nograles said the Filipino seafarers started their 14-day quarantine last Tuesday.
He said other seafarers who have been booked by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in hotels that had been converted into quarantine facilities will continue to stay in the hotels to complete their quarantine requirements.
Nograles said that to date, OWWA has assisted 10,240 stranded overseas Filipino workers, including food packs for 3,688 seafarers, free transport for 3,347 OFWs, and temporary shelters for 2,641 overseas workers.
