A view of the Costa Luminosa cruise ship that was hit by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as it is docked at the port of Savona, near Genoa, Italy, March 21, 2020. Massimo Pinca, Reuters
MANILA--Filipino seafarers from a virus-stricken Italian cruise ship will be repatriated, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday.
In a tweet, Locsin said the Filipino seafarers onboard Costa Luminosa will arrive in the Philippines on March 28, Saturday.
"Filipino seafarers from Costa Luminosa in Italy will be flying home to Manila March 26, arriving March 28. They were stranded on the cruise ship and Costa Luminosa has undertaken to repatriate them at its own cost. Decent of it. THANK YOU SO MUCH. A responsible cruise liner," Locsin said.
Earlier, Filipino migrant workers advocate Susan Ople told Locsin that it received “an urgent appeal for help from Ken, a seafarer aboard Costas Luminosa docked in Italy.”
“Na-repatriate na raw mga passengers, naiwan ang crew. He is feverish and may ibang OFWs din daw ba may sakit,” Ople tweeted Locsin.
Authorities earlier confirmed that 36 people onboard the Costa Luminosa were infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after it docked in Marseille, France to undergo health inspection.
The ship was bound for the Italian harbor of Savona from Marseille when authorities confirmed the condition of the 36. -- With a report from Marc Leras, Reuters
Filipino seafarers, seamen, France, Italy, repatriation, Teodoro Locsin Jr., Costa Luminosa, cruise ship