DFA, OWWA repatriate 196 Filipinos from Macau

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will repatriate over 100 Filipinos from Macau due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The DFA will assist 148 Filipinos, who will travel via chartered flight, while OWWA will facilitate the return of 48 active members via commercial flight.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III confirmed that the OWWA is arranging a separate repatriation for its 48 members, with no set date yet.

Upon arrival, all repatriated Filipinos will be treated as persons under monitoring and will undergo a 14-day self-quarantine as approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The Bureau of Quarantine, DILG, and local governments will be provided with a list of repatriates' residences for daily monitoring of symptoms.

Macau has reported 10 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Tuesday.

The task force has not yet tallied the expenses for repatriations due to the outbreak.