OFW can only look at family he can't hug due to new COVID-19 quarantine rules

Fortunato Quileste, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) from Qatar returned home to the country after three years. However, he could not hug his family due to the new quarantine protocols imposed amid the threat of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The Quileste family was openly enthusiastic outside the airport as they waited to see the husband and father who had been working abroad for the last three years.

“Mayakap lang siya ng mga anak namin (If our children can only hug him),” Dolly Parel, Quileste's wife, said in Jun Veneracion’s “24 Oras” report on Friday.

“Namiss ko na si papa (I miss my father),” Sophia, Quileste's daughter, added.

After the long wait, his family immediately ran to him as he arrived.

However, they could only exchange warm smiles, as giving hugs was forbidden as Quileste had to be quarantined.

“Mahirap, mahirap sa isang OFW tatlong taon na hindi nagkita tapos ganito pa. 15 days lang yung bakasyon ko,” Quileste lamented.

(It is hard for an OFW arriving in the country after three years and will only have this. My holiday will only last 15 days.)

“Makasama sana [siya] kaso may harang na pandemic, quarantine. Wala, tiis muna,” his wife said.

(We had hoped to be with him. However, there is a pandemic. He needs to be quarantined first.)

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) announced the new testing and quarantine protocols for travelers arriving from countries not on the red list.

Under the new guidelines, fully vaccinated travelers will be required to have a negative RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours before departure from the country of origin.

For fully vaccinated travelers, they would undergo a facility-based quarantine with an RT-PCR test taken on the 5th day, with the date of arrival being the first day.

Regardless of a negative result, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine for 14 days from the date of arrival.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) reported that at least 4,500 OFWs return to the Philippines each day. They are required to stay in a quarantine facility.

The Department of Health (DOH), meanwhile, said that there were enough quarantine facilities for returning OFWs.

“May mga for swabbing pa rin po. Pero karamihan nag-negative na rin po sa result. Lahat po naman ay wala po tayong nakikitang sintomas hanggang ngayon. Tatapusin po nila ‘yung 14 days quarantine,” BOQ official Dr. Roberto Salvador Jr. said.

(There is testing for COVID-19. But most of them tested negative. None of them had any symptoms. They need to complete the 14-day quarantine.)

Meanwhile, at least 35 countries or jurisdictions have detected the Omicron variant as of December 3. — Richa Noriega/DVM, GMA News