Over 3,700 Filipinos repatriated from Qatar due to pandemic — ambassador

A total of 3,753 Filipinos in Qatar have been repatriated since June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambassador Alan Timbayan said Friday.

In a televised briefing, Timbayan said the embassy has so far recorded 12 repatriation flights. He also said the remains of Filipinos who died because of COVID-19 have been flown back to the Philippines.

There are around 241,000 overseas Filipino workers in the Gulf state, according to the embassy.

“Na-notice na po namin na karamihan po ng aming mga OFWs dito po ay minabuti na po nilang mag-stay dito dahil po sa maganda na po, nag-open na po ang Qatar, nagbukas na po, marami na po nakabalik sa kanilang trabaho,” Timbayan said.

Qatar has so far reported 124,425 COVID-19 cases, with 212 deaths, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.

“Ang COVID cases sa Qatar ay nag-stabilize na, wala pong official count ang embassy tungkol doon sa mga expatriate natin na nasa isolation centers at saka nasa hospital,” Timbayan said.

“Wala ho tayong count doon kasi po hindi po nagbibigay sa atin ang mga pamahalaan rito gawa po ng privacy law ng Qatar.”

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier thanked the countries that have provided Filipino migrants with residence permits, access to testing, treatment and related health services amid the pandemic. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News