DFA: 401 Filipinos abroad infected with COVID-19

THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, April 1, announced that there are a total of 401 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) among overseas Filipino workers.

Of the number, 270 are currently undergoing treatment, 118 have recovered while 13 have died.

According to the agency, the OFWs who contracted the disease are from 32 countries and regions covering Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East/Africa, and the Americas.

There are 206 cases of Filipinos with COVID-19 in the Asia Pacific Region, 52 cases in the Middle East/Africa, 107 cases in Europe, and 36 cases in America.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the Department of Health announced there are 227 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s official tally to 2,311.

The department also recorded eight new deaths – all of who were senior citizens. This brings the country’s death toll to 96.

The fatalities include an 80-year-old Filipino male from San Juan City, a 70-year-old Filipino male from Cebu City, an 84-year-old Filipino male from Mandaluyong City, a 77-year-old Filipino male from Manila, a 66-year-old Filipino male from Parañaque City, a 73-year-old Filipino male from Pasig City, a 79-year-old Filipino female from Makati City, and a 65-year-old Filipino female from Quezon City.

One patient, on the other hand, recovered, bringing the official count of recoveries to 50.

Esperanza Cabral, former DOH chief, pointed out that the country can still expect an increase in positive cases in the next two weeks.

“I don’t think we are peaking next week or even the week after. I don’t think we have controlled the coronavirus yet,” she told CNN Philippines’ The Source.

Cabral also said that the government would still need to secure tens of thousands more tests before officials can analyze the severity of the virus in local communities.

“We will have to do more tests. If we have done 10 or 20,000 of them, we can more or less determine what is the prevalence of the coronavirus in our community. And perhaps we can say that at that time, (if) we have controlled or not controlled the coronavirus,” she added.