MANILA - More than 23,000 Filipinos have been brought home from abroad since February when the government started its repatriation program due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

The DFA said in a statement that "16,688 seafarers and 7,022 land-based overseas Filipinos" have been repatriated after 42 new arrivals were greeted by the department earlier in the day.

This accounts for a total of 23,710 Filipinos repatriated.

(1/2) The DFA warmly greeted 25 Filipino seafarers of MSC Magnifica from France, 16 distressed OFWs from Qatar, and one from Pakistan via Qatar. To date, a total of 16,688 seafarers and 7,022 land-based OFs have been repatriated since February 2020. pic.twitter.com/NO7otJrvA0

— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) April 30, 2020

After the novel coronavirus emerged from China in November, the DFA has been coordinating with Filipinos in countries hit by the pandemic.

As of Thursday, the number of Filipinos abroad who contracted the novel coronavirus disease is 1,677, of whom 201 died and 401 others recovered, said the DFA.

In the Philippines, the coronavirus has so far infected 8,488 people, with 586 deaths and 1,043 recoveries. - with a report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News