Eight Filipino crew members who tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while aboard the cargo vessel MV Athens Bridge have already recuperated, an official of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) confirmed Friday, May 14.

Captain Jeffrey Solon, officer-in-charge of MARINA Office of the Deputy Administrator for Planning, told the Manila Bulletin that the eight seafarers are now only finishing their mandatory 14-day quarantine in a government facility.

"Those eight positive crew in quarantine facility have recovered and waiting to finish the 14 day quarantine set by the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ)," Solon said in an interview.

Meanwhile, four others who were previously sent to the hospital due to complications from COVID-19 have already shown improvements, the MARINA official said.

"wo of them are recovering fast while the other two in critical condition are now out of danger but still being monitored," he said.

The Panama-flagged vessel departed from India on April 22 and arrived in Vietnam on May 1 where all crew members, including 21 Filipino seafarers, were tested for the coronavirus.

Of the 21 Filipino personnel, 12 have acquired the viral disease.

Solon said the nine remaining Filipino seafarers who were restricted in the ship have already disembarked as they were subjected to a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and brought to an isolation facility.

According to Solon, the cargo vessel is ready to sail as long as “all the crew members are complete and they are declared safe as per manning certificate."

The cargo vessel, which arrived in the country on May 6 after a trip from India, is currently anchored around 10 kilometers or 5.4 nautical miles away from Cavite shore.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has restricted other sea vessels from going near the MV Athens Bridge to prevent the spread of the viral disease, what with concerns that those who tested positive would bring in a more contagious variant of COVID-19 from India.