The National Task Force against COVID-19 is preparing for the arrival of 42,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Philippines.
The government aims to establish testing laboratories in main port areas of the country including that of Batangas, Subic, and Davao to avoid congestion in Metro Manila and to directly transport the OFWs to their respective provinces. OFWs who reside in Bulacan and the Northern part of Luzon are to be tested at the Philippine Arena.
In the recent data of the government, about 28,000 OFWs have arrived in the Philippines due to the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic worldwide while 5,000 are awaiting their results from the swab test.
According to National Action Plan Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., they are expediting the accreditation of additional laboratories to address the backlogs of the OFWs’ swab tests. The government aims to fix the problem of the backlogs within two weeks.
Report from Bea Bernardo
