OVERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) planning to return home would do well to postpone their trips owing to the “surge” in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, notably Metropolitan Manila.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), also reported the escalation of stayers in our hotel quarantine facilities.
“My advice to our beloved OFWs: Kindly postpone your planned trips to our dear country,” said the soft-spoken OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac in a press statement.
Cacdac, however, was quick to assure the public, particularly our migrant workers, that OWWA is looking for hotels in nearby provinces to accommodate returning OFWs.
Earlier, the National Task Force Against COVID-19 issued a circular allowing all Filipinos abroad to enter the country amid a temporary ban which takes effect today until April 21.
Last Saturday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported another single-day record of new COVID-19 cases at 7,999, surpassing the coronavirus infections in August 2020.
Last year’s August infections prompted health-care workers to call for a “timeout.”
Reports said that the country’s doctors, nurses and other health workers have been suffering from the burden of this pandemic of more than a year now, with no end in sight.
Some quarters described the surge as unfortunate coming at a time when the government is in the midst of vaccinating the Filipino people against the dreaded and deadly virus.
Perhaps, the authorities should dig deeper why the sudden increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
