DOH says ‘majority’ of new COVID-19 cases among repatriates; data show OFWs account for less than 10 pct
Posted at Jul 01 2020 08:38 PM
MANILA — The Department of Health on Wednesday claimed that “majority” of the new COVID-19 cases in the Philippines in the last two months were among repatriated Filipinos, as coronavirus cases in the country continued to rise amid eased quarantine restrictions.
This even as data showed that overseas Filipinos who recently returned to the country accounted for less than 10 percent of total infections recorded in May and June.
“Ayon sa ginawang initial analysis, may mga indikasyon na karamihan sa mga bagong kaso sa mga buwan ng Mayo at Hunyo ay dahil sa mga repatriates kumpara sa Marso at Abril na karamihan ay health care workers,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said during at televised briefing.
(According to our initial analysis, there are indications that majority of the new cases for the months of May and June are because of repatriates, compared to March and April that involved mostly health care workers.)
She said that as of June 30, 2020, 92,967 overseas Filipinos have returned home: 39,643 were land-based, and 53,324 were sea-based.
Of the total COVID-19 cases, 2,326 were among repatriated OFWs. More than half (1,213) are land-based workers and the rest (1,113) are sea-based workers.
Many Filipino workers abroad were forced to return to the Philippines because their companies were affected by COVID-19 lockdowns.
Meanwhile, health workers in the Philippines who were infected with COVID-19 are now at 3,367.
NOT MAJORITY
But raw data released by the DOH as of June 30 showed that while COVID-19 cases among repatriates did increase for May and June, they do not comprise majority of the patients who tested positive.
DOH data compiled by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group showed that among repatriates, new cases increased by 952 in May and then another 998 in June. But these are only 9.9 percent and 5.1 percent respectively of the total number of new cases for the month.
Meanwhile, health worker infections spiked in April at 1,694. This accounted for 26.46 percent of the total confirmed cases at 6,401 that month.
The new cases among health workers slightly declined for May and June although it was not far behind the number of Filipino repatriates with COVID-19.
ABS-CBN News reached out to DOH to clarify on Vergeire’s comment attributing majority of new cases for May and June to repatriates but the agency has yet to respond.
OFWs who return to the country undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival. They then go on 14-day quarantine in government facilities mostly in Metro Manila. Those who test negative for the new coronavirus are allowed to return to their hometowns upon completing quarantine.
