MANILA, Philippines — The repatration flight carrying 30 Filipinos from Wuhan, the city of origin of the novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV), arrived in the Philippines on Sunday morning, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
According to the DFA, the flight arrived at Clark, Pampanga at 7 a.m. on Sunday.
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The flight carried 29 adults and an infant, less than the 56 Filipinos who had expressed intent to be repatriated.
And official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said on Saturday that Filipinos showing symptoms of 2019-nCoV would not be included in the repatriation operations.
Flight from Wuhan City has arrived! @teddyboylocsin #DFAinACTION#AssistancetoNationals pic.twitter.com/xy4UlY9Vvh
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) February 8, 2020
Both the passengers and crew of the flight will be subject to a 14-day quarantine, which is how long the 2019 nCoV's incubation period is, at the Athlete's Village in New Clark City in Tarlac.
The crew consisting of DFA personnel Rowell Casaclang, Richard Delos Santos, Abdul Rahman Pacasum, Mark Anthony Geguera and Sanny Darren Bejarin was also accompanied by Department of Health members Dr. Neptali Labasan, Dr. Oliver Ray Macalinao, Rowell Divinagracia, Elmer Collong and Jose Juan to make up the government's ten-member repatriation team.
Congrats to the repatriation team from DFA (Rowell Casaclang, Richard Delos Santos, Abdul Rahman Pacasum, Mark Anthony Geguera & Sanny Darren Bejarin) and @DOHgov (Dr. Neptali Labasan, Dr. Oliver Ray Macalinao, Rowell Divinagracia, Elmer Collong & Jose Juan)! ???????????? #DFAinACTION pic.twitter.com/nHalPpGq2w
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) February 9, 2020
Other nations, including Japan and the United States, have also opted to evacuate their people amid the spread of the virus.
President Rodrigo Duterte last week ordered a temporary travel ban on the Hubei Province, which is where Wuhan is located, after expressing reluctance to implement a ban of any sort due to its potential effects on diplomatic ties with China.
It was only after the first confirmed 2019 nCoV-linked death outside of China took place in the Philippines that the Chief Executive extended the travel suspension to include the entirety of mainland China along with its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau.
As of this writing, there are currently 267 persons under investigation for the novel coronavirus in the Philippines.
DFA – OUMWA Team to Depart for Wuhan Repatriation Operation: https://t.co/h2p6hIjejk
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) February 8, 2020
A team from the DFA is scheduled to fly tonight from Clark to Wuhan City to assist Filipinos to be repatriated from the epicenter of the 2019-nCoV ARD together with a medical team from the DOH. pic.twitter.com/YtrgsNyAUD