Filipino peacekeepers from Liberia quarantined on Manila Bay island as precaution vs Ebola

MANILA, Philippines—More than 130 Filipino soldiers and police returned from peacekeeping duties in Liberia on Wednesday and immediately headed to an island quarantine as a precaution against the Ebola virus.

Although they passed rigid U.N. Ebola screening before they left the West African nation, they will still spend another 21 days on Caballo Island at the mouth of Manila Bay, the military said.

The troops arrived on a chartered flight but were not allowed to meet with relatives. The families applauded as they watched a video of arrival ceremonies at an air base from inside the Philippine air force museum building.

Nearly 5,000 people have died from the disease, majority from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The Philippines fears its peacekeepers and migrant workers in West Africa make the Southeast Asian nation potentially vulnerable to the disease. The government recalled the troops from Liberia, urged an estimated 1,700 workers in the three worst-hit nations to return home and barred others from going there.

The military said the troops will be housed in air-conditioned tents and provided with cable television and Internet facilities to communicate with families.