Covid-19 threatens to leave thousands of Philippines working abroad stranded and disrupt the flow of remittances

By Victoria Hudson.

An archipelago of 100 million souls and 7000 islands is witnessing the rapid diffusion of Coronavirus cases. The Philippines are preparing to isolate the entire huge metropolitan area of Manila with its 12 million inhabitants for 30 days. The Philippine Department of Health has announced that there are 34 new cases confirmed, bringing the total number to 111 with an escalation since last Thursday, and at least 8 victims. These figures are still far from creating alarm, but the case of Italy, where many Filipino migrants live, has alarmed the authorities and from Sunday to midnight the great metropolis cannot be reached, nor can we leave except in emergencies such as the workers and the "essential" movements of supplies and medical teams. The mayors of the various cities that make up the area of the capital also voted on the decision to impose a curfew from 8 in the evening to 5 in the morning. The area is completely surrounded by army checkpoints. 

The poor of the numerous favelas who face a long trip to the city every day to make ends meet and allow at least one meal for the family will pay for this situation. The imposed isolation will also see them forced to live together in numerous nuclei in small and hygienically unhealthy houses. One of the deceased patients came from one of these villages, and theoretically he had had no contact with any foreigner or potential carrier. Without providing further details of the new cases, the director of the Department of Public Health reported that some staff at the Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City had been exposed to the virus and further updates are expected. Those who will travel outside Metro Manila, even if they have no symptoms, are invited to go into solitary confinement for 14 days. "But it is not a total blockade - said an official - but only a community quarantine". To partially deny it and to hypothesize even more serious measures, it was the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte himself. Speaking of the risks of a total blockade of Manila, he ironed about those who say "We don't want to use that term". "It is because they are afraid to call it a block, but it is a block," he said.

An estimated 10 to 12 million Filipinos work abroad.  In 2019, they sent home between $33.47bn to $35.1bn in remittances, accounting for just under 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, according to the World Bank. The outbreak now threatens to leave tens of thousands of workers reliant on jobs overseas stranded and disrupt the flow of remittances. Philippine Overseas Employment Agency head Bernard Olalia said on Monday up to 3,000 Filipinos were immediately affected by the bans, with some Qatar-based workers forced to turn back after boarding planes to Doha after Kuwait and Qatar announced temporary entry bans on travellers from the Philippines. Kuwait reported at least 72 infections and Qatar 262 on Thursday. The Philippines has reported 49 cases of COVID-19, with two fatalities as of Thursday. Of the 49 cases, 46 have been confirmed this week.