By Glazyl Masculino
BACOLOD CITY - A total of 567 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were stuck in Manila and other areas due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, arrived in Negros Occidental via repatriation trips from June 2 to 10.
Negros Occidental PIO / MANILA BULLETIN
The figure was composed of 384 LSIs and 183 OFWs, who were repatriated via sweeper flights and 2Go Malasakit Voyage, according to the provincial government.
On June 2, 26 OFWs arrived via an Air Asia sweeper flight at the Bacolod-Silay Airport in Silay City. The following day, 23 more OFWs via a mercy flight of the same airline returned home.
Another batch composed of 13 OFWs and 14 others arrived in the province on June 4 and 5, respectively via two sweeper flights.
On June 6, 22 LSIs, including a child, arrived at the airport via an Air Asia sweeper flight from Manila, while another sweeper flight from the same airline also brought home 13 OFWs on June 7.
The next day, 57 OFWs returned home via a Philippine Airlines (PAL) mercy flight, and 158 LSIs and eight OFWs also arrived at the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) port via 2Go Malasakit Voyage later that night.
On June 9, 113 other Negrenses on board two PAL mercy flights were brought safely home to the province. The next day, another batch of LSIs composed of 120 passengers from Manila returned home via a PAL sweeper flight.
They underwent real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and were assisted by the Provincial Incident Management Team (PITM), pursuant to the mandatory health protocols.
Passengers in sweeper flights need prior registration from the Provincial Tourism Office through the official Facebook page of the Negros Occidental Tourism Division. They are also required to have medical certificates from their local health offices and travel authority from the local police.