AMONG the repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who returned to Davao City are 112 pregnant women, two who gave birth in the city, an official from the Davao City Airport Monitoring team said.
Airport Monitoring head Generose Tecson said in a radio interview on Friday, July 30, 2021, that the pregnant women were among the 359 OFWs and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who were repatriated from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and who arrived on July 18 at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao International Airport).
Tecson called it a "blessing" when the two gave birth at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
"Meron din tayong blessing dahil meron tayong dalawang OFW na nanganak. So dalawa po. Nanganak po (This is a blessing since we have two OFWs who gave birth here) --- Made in Dubai, born in Davao," the airport official said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She added that this is the biggest number of pregnant women they were able to repatriate.
Tecson said pregnant women were allowed to go on board since it is a repatriated flight.
The official did not further elaborate on the identities of the women who gave birth in the city.
Some 154 repatriated OFWs from Dhaka, Bangladesh also arrived in the city on July 15.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio bared during her radio interview on July 26 that 10 repatriated OFWs who returned to the city tested positive for Covid-19.
Of these, three were from Dhaka, and seven were from Dubai.
The patients have already been placed in the city’s designated treatment facility.
Tecson said OFWs and ROFs were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests 48 hours before they boarded their flight.
The repatriates underwent quarantine for 14 days in a facility in Davao City.
On the seventh day from the date of their arrival, they will undergo another swab test. Those who will test negative will be sent home after completing the 14-day quarantine period.
Tecson said the specimens of the positive OFWs will be subjected for genomic sequencing.
“Pero whatever it is na variant na kind of Covid[-19], pareho lang ang ang ating gawain (Regardless of the Covid-19 variant, we will still do the same treatment),” she said, adding that the positive patients will undergo the same treatment.