Infected Pinoys on ship rise to 80

MANILA, Philippines — Twenty-one more Filipinos from the cruise ship Diamond Princess have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), bringing to at least 80 the number of those who had to skip yesterday’s repatriation to submit to treatment in Japan.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that with this development, the projected number of 480 Filipinos to be repatriated on two special flights back to the Philippines had dwindled to 450.

Records show there were 538 Filipino crew and passengers on board the virus-stricken ship, with 80 of them contracting the virus. Two of the Filipinos who got infected have recovered but there is a “special arrangement” for their repatriation.

“Only those who tested negative and are asymptomatic (to COVID-19) can join the repatriation. Maybe around 450 passengers were repatriated. This does not include the nine medical team members from DOH (Department of Health) and four from DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs),” he said in a radio interview.

Repatriation flights

The repatriates were to arrive last night at Clark International Airport in Pampanga and then taken directly to the Athletes’ Village in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac.

Special flights fetched them at Haneda airport in Japan yesterday with the first chartered flight, Philippine Airlines’ PR-8422, departing Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 around 10:30 a.m.

The other chartered flight departed NAIA at 12:20 p.m. Both were direct flights to Haneda with two pilots and six cabin crew each.

All cabin crew are to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) on the flight back to Clark, authorities said.

The first flight had one passenger representing the DFA while the second had two DFA representatives aboard.

Earlier, officials from the Philippine embassy in Tokyo, DFA and the DOH medical team were in Yokohama for the disembarkation of the Filipinos from the Diamond Princess.

Duque noted that the Japanese government used military buses to transport the Filipinos from the ship docked off Yokohama to the Haneda airport where they were again tested for symptoms by quarantine officers. 

The DFA ensured the repatriates were well taken care of from disembarkation until their safe arrival in the Philippines last night.

It also took care of preparations such as securing clearances and permits for the disembarkation, land transfer and arrangements for the chartered flights.

A source told The STAR manning agency Magsaysay Maritime Corp. is paying for the repartriation of the Filipino ship crew from Japan.

Health protocols

Under the approved agreement among all concerned agencies, the DOH shall provide human resources and their transportation to the quarantine site, on-site medical needs of the repatriates, hospitalization expenses through PhilHealth and PPE for the first five days of quarantine.

The DOH will also coordinate all these efforts with the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) member agencies, World Health Organization, Philippine embassy in Japan and the Magsaysay Maritime Corporation.

Upon the return of the flights, the pilots and cabin crew of the two PAL special fights shall also undergo self-quarantine for 14 days.

An airport source told The STAR that local carriers are still appealing to the task force to lift this restriction. “The long quarantine period affects the supply of deployment of cabin crew and pilots for  regular flights,” said the source.

Duque said the IATF still has to decide on the request made by the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines (ACAP).

“There is this recommendation to exempt them (from the quarantine period) since they are sealed off from the passengers and also because they are wearing personal protective equipment,” he said.

He said the task force may come up with new protocols for the members of flight and cabin crew today.

P10,000 assistance

The Filipino crew of Diamond Princess are getting P10,000 each in financial assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the financial assistance to all active OWWA members among the ship’s crew is meant to help them with their expenses while completing the 14-day quarantine.

Bello said he understood that the Filipino seafarers who served aboard Diamond Princess were to be redeployed for work by their manning agency once quarantine is completed.

“So we could only provide temporary financial assistance, not the same assistance that we will extend if they come home permanently,” Bello said in an interview.

Bello said the Filipino seafarers are also being considered to be granted a “Bagong Bayani” award for continuing to serve ship passengers while already under quarantine.

“They have shown gallantry by working while under quarantine,” he said

Although it would be unlikely for the seafarers to quit their jobs, Bello said OWWA is ready to provide assistance to those who would choose to stay in the country for good.

The DOLE chief also cited Magsaysay for its commendable handling of the situation of the Filipino crew.  – With Pia Lee-Brago, Mayen Jaymalin, Rudy Santos