442 Filipino evacuees from Diamond Princess cruise ship sent home

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 11) — A total of 442 Filipinos from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan were sent home Wednesday.

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) sent home 442 out of the 445 Filipino evacuees from the coronavirus-hit cruise ship after finishing a 14-day quarantine at the New Clark City in Tarlac.

Out of the 445 evacuees, two of them tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease of COVID-19. They were immediately referred to the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital.

The rooms of the two patients were also disinfected, and those who have come in close contact with them will also undergo a 14-day home quarantine.

“From the beginning, DOH was aware of the risk that some of the repatriates might test positive for COVID-19. This is why strict infection prevention and control measures were enforced during the quarantine period to protect our kababayans and the health workers attending to them,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.

The Filipinos were repatriated from Japan on February 25.