ILOILO – There are 994 Western Visayans working in China, data from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) showed.
With the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province, should the workers be repatriated or should they stay there?
“We are waiting for advisories from our central office,” said Jack Arroyo, welfare case officer of OWWA Region 6.
Most of these overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Region 6 were teachers, according to Arroyo.
On Jan. 30, the Department of Foreign Affairs called for the repatriation of Filipinos in China over fears of the virus spread.
It said the first batch of repatriates of Filipinos from Wuhan City may arrive this week.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, the Philippine government expanded its temporary travel ban on the whole of China and its territories as the country recorded the first new coronavirus-related death.
The ban earlier covered only those traveling from China’s Hubei province where the epicenter of the virus outbreak, Wuhan City, is located.
Now, the travel ban covers all foreigners arriving from China, Hong Kong and Macau, including those who visited these areas within 14 days, according to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea in a statement.
However, Filipino citizens and those who hold a permanent resident visa issued by the Philippine government may enter the country but will undergo a 14-day quarantine, he added.
The provincial government of Iloilo is ready to help the families of these OFWs via an interagency helpdesk set up recently to assist families of OFWs working in Iran, Iraq and other countries in the Middle East.
The helpdesk is being manned by Task Force Bulig Ilonggo led by Public Employment Service Office (PESO) chief Francisco Heler Jr. and Provincial Administrator Suzette Mamon. It is equipped with telephone and Wi-Fi connections for efficient communication.
Task force members are OWWA, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, General Services Office, Information Communication Technology Management Office, and Public Information and Community Affairs Office.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Roland Distura, vice chairman of the SP committee on labor and employment, urged Ilonggos in China to follow the Chinese government’s health advisories.
The new coronavirus causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough.
The number of deaths in China now exceeds the 349 killed on the mainland in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak of 2002-2003.
Many nations have evacuated their citizens from affected areas of China, often placing them in quarantine on arrival home./PN
