If you are planning to vacation in the Philippines, then you might be alarmed by the fact that quarantine hotels are now on the red alert levels.
It can be recalled that there was a swarm of returning OFWs during the holiday seasons. However, OWWA chief Hans Leo Cacdac assured that the situation is still under control. Currently, there are 9,000 OFWs who are staying inside 240 quarantine hotels.
“Manageable ang sitwasyon sa ngayon, although medyo red flag or red alert levels na ‘yan for us,” Cacdac said.
“So, binabantayan nating maigi ang sitwasyon. Nakadepende kasi ito sa bilis ng pag-swab test at bilis ng paglabas ng swab test result.”
Moreover, there are currently a lot of testing backlogs due to the huge number of OFWs coming to the Philippines every day.
Cacdac also said that the government facilities are overwhelmed by the huge number of testing requirements from returning OFWs that contracted COVID-19 symptoms.
“So parang may domino effect itong ano eh, ‘yung dami ng mga nagpapatest ngayon. Hindi lamang sa mga umaalis kundi pati sa nanunumbalik,” says Cacdac.
Rest assured ‘yung specimen naman ay hindi damaged o nasira. It’s still there, it’s just being processed, so just to seek the patience of our dear OFWs.”
Amidst the swarm of returning OFWs, the government is now seeking the help of private sectors which could help in processing backlogs in testing. There are also instances in which specimens of OFWs are sent to regions that are outside Metro Manila.
“Sinasakay na natin sa ating sweeper flights ‘yung mga specimen. Ibabalik na lang ng Cebu via electronic system ‘yung mga resulta sa mga OFWs,” says Cacdac.
