Over 13,000 seafarers have now been repatriated to the Philippines from the US after being displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has put forward a significant campaign to return affected seafarers home. The Philippine Embassy in Washington DC coordinated the repatriation of the seafarers who were stranded in Miami and Barbados and the country has also been working on repatriating its seafarers from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The repatriation wave comes amid rising calls for countries and port authorities to facilitate crew changes and enable the stranded mariners to return to their homes. Once repatriated, seafarers are either kept in mandatory facility-based quarantine or sent to quarantine at home for at least 14 days before reuniting with their families.
