58 Seafarers from California Brings Total to 1,045 Repatriated on Holy Tuesday

Pasay City, 08 April 2020 - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed yesterday’s last batch of Filipino repatriates composed of 58 crew members of Panama-flagged Carnival Panorama, who flew from California, USA, through Incheon, South Korea and finally, to the Philippines. This last flight landed at the NAIA Terminal 1 at 9:52 P.M.

Carnival Panorama was docked in Long Beach, California, since early March, when one of its passengers fell ill and was suspected of COVID-19 infection. The test returned negative.

The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, and in coordination with the United Philippine Lines, the local manning agency, facilitated the return of the Carnival Panorama Filipino crew members. The Department of Health (DOH), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Department of Transportation, also provided assistance to the returning Filipinos upon their arrival.

This late night arrival brought the total number of Filipinos who safely returned to the Philippines on the eighth day of repatriations facilitated by the DFA to 1,045. Earlier this afternoon, 987 distressed Filipinos arrived in four batches, consisting of 343 seafarers from seven vessels (Carnival Conquest, Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic, Carnival Sunshine, MS Amadea and MS Scenic Eclipse) and 644 undocumented workers from Kuwait.

All the repatriates underwent thorough mandatory inspection and quarantine protocols supervised by the DOH-Bureau of Quarantine before being brought to their designated quarantine facilities. END (Photos by DFA-OUMWA)