Returning OFWs asked to inform gov’t of flight sked

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TO prevent them from overstaying in quarantine facilities, returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were asked yesterday by the Department of Labor and Employment to inform government of their flight schedules five days ahead of their expected arrival.

This will enable the government to prepare for the mandatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT- PCR) tests which will be administered upon their arrival, said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Bello also said the requirement is based on new guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

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“For OFWs scheduled to come home, before they leave the country of origin, they will have to notify us five days before their departure,” said Bello. “We will need to get their names, their skills, and their final destinations.”

Bello said the new requirement will also help coordinate the OFWs` arrival with their respective local government units which have their own safety protocols.

“In a period of one to two days, we can already know if the OFW is negative or positive for COVID-19. If he is negative, as per arrangement, we will now allow them to go home to their final place of destination,” he said.

“Effectively, the LGUs, where they are headed, are already prepared and are aware of their arrival,” added Bello.

Previously, all OFWs are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period upon their arrival, and to test negative for COVID-19 before they are allowed to return to their hometowns.

Several LGUs have refused entry to OFWs due to fear of them carrying the novel virus.

This has delayed the release of some 24,000 repatriated OFWs from government-designated quarantine facilities in Metro Manila last month.

The government estimates some 300,000 OFWs will return to the country this year.

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