THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, August 20, recorded 14 additional cases of the novel coronavirus among overseas Filipinos, bringing the official tally of infections to 9,973.It also logged one new recovery, raising the number of recovered Filipinos to 5,860.
Meanwhile, the death toll remained at 733 as there were no reports of new fatalities due to COVID-19.
“With reports from only two countries in Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East, the DFA confirms 14 new COVID-19 cases, 1 new recovery, and no new fatalities today among Filipinos abroad,” it said.
“Meanwhile, no updates were received from the Americas and Europe,” it added.
Overall by region, Europe — which comprises 18 countries — has recorded 1,156 Filipino cases, including 501 undergoing treatment, 560 recoveries and 95 deaths.
The Middle East and Africa, covering 27 countries, has reported 6,927 cases; of which, 2,350 are undergoing treatment, 452 deaths and 4,125 recoveries.
The Asia Pacific region, which spans across 20 countries, has 1,099 cases, with 361 undergoing treatment, 730 recoveries, and eight deaths.
The Americas — covering seven countries like the United States — have 791 reported cases, with 159 undergoing treatment, 454 recoveries, and 178 deaths.
“The DFA shall continue to keep track of the status of Filipinos abroad and stands ready to assist and facilitate repatriations, whenever possible,” the agency said.
More than 141,531 overseas Filipinos have been repatriated since the pandemic began, of which 87,569 are land-based workers while 53,962 are seafarers.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola, for her part, said the DFA is expecting more repatriates in the coming days from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the United States, Japan, and Papua New Guinea.
