DOT has identified 50K rooms for quarantine of repatriated OFWs —Duterte report

Around 50,000 rooms in various accommodation establishments in the country have been identified by the Department of Tourism (DOT) as venues for the mandatory quarantine of returning overseas Filipino workers, according to President Rodrigo Duterte's latest report to Congress on Monday.

"For the welfare of homecoming OFWs, the DOT screened and identified 737 hotels nationwide, which have allocated 44,871 rooms for repatriated OFWs," the report read.

Of this figure, there are 22,192 available rooms for occupancy as of May 21. The exact locations were not specified.

"The DOT also reached out to 941 non-accredited accommodation establishments for their temporary operation as quarantine facilities for returning OFWs and have confirmed 6,516 rooms," the report added.

Last week, chief implementer of the government’s COVID-19 response Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. warned that with around 42,000 more returning OFWs expected to arrive this month and in June, the country's isolation facilities may be overwhelmed.

On Monday, Duterte gave the Department of Labor and Employment, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Department of Health one week to bring home to provinces the 24,000 OFWs stranded in Metro Manila.

These OFWs have completed their 14-day mandatory quarantine in quarantine facilities in the capital region after they were repatriated, but they have not yet been allowed to leave since their COVID-19 test results have not yet been released.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III vowed to carry out the task within three days. — BM, GMA News