Discussions with concerned airlines to airlift stranded Filipinos in Macau has met a setback, according to a statement by the Consulate-General of the Republic of the Philippines in Macau on Thursday. This is due to concerns by airlines regarding quarantine procedures for their flight crew.
The Philippine Consulate has been trying, since February 13, to arrange a flight for the stranded Filipinos in Macau to return home – between 100-150 Filipinos are stranded in Macau.
In the statement, the Consulate appeals that all Filipinos affected “take other options such as arranging their return flight to the Philippines through alternative commercial routes.”
According to the statement, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued the same appeal in its Advisory on February 19.
The Filipinos got stuck in Macau in the wake of the Philippine government’s decision to restrict travel between the Philippines and mainland China (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau) due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
The travel ban was partially lifted on Macau and Hong Kong on Tuesday, with Philippine nationals allowed to return, but are subject to 14 days in quarantine.
Philippine nationals make up Macau’s biggest foreign community, numbering about 35,000, or around 5 percent of the population.
PHOTO © Macau News/António Sanmarful
