By Noreen Jazul
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said there might be a delay on the arrival of the repatriated Filipinos from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the 2019 novel coronavirus acute respiratory disease (2019 nCoV ARD).
This photo taken on January 28, 2020 shows Health Secretary Francisco Duque (2nd L) (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
"Supposedly Saturday , pero baka magkaroon ng delay ng two days dahil itong mga lugar na tinitingnan natin ay dapat handang handa," Duque told DZMM radio on Thursday.
(They're supposed to arrive Saturday, but there will probably be a two-day delay because we're still checking if the quarantine site is ready.)
Read more: Repatriation of Filipinos in Wuhan set this week
Duque said they are still doing minor fixes in the quarantine site in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.
"Five percent na lang, beddings lang ganon," he said, adding that he wanted the site to be "100% ready" for the repatriated Filipinos.
(There's about five percent work that still needs to be done, like fixing of beddings.)
Read more: DOH eyes rehab center in Nueva Ecija as quarantine site for repatriated Filipinos
Duque said about 40 to 48 Filipino will be brought home to the Philippines from Hubei province, most of them from Wuhan, via a chartered flight.
When asked if there would be another flight to evacuate Filipinos from Wuhan, Duque said: "Wala pang balita pero siyempre di naman natin sinasara iyong posibilidad na meron pang gustong umuwi."
(There's no news yet, but we're not closing the possibility of more Filipinos wanting to go home.)