Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello. (File photo by DEXTER CABALZA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines – A female household worker who recently died in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has tested positive for coronavirus, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III confirmed Thursday.
According to Bello, a previous report on the still-unidentified overseas Filipino worker (OFW) did not show coronavirus as a cause of death but medical reports cited coronavirus a day later.
“Initially, sabi hindi coronavirus – that was a February 1 report. Pero February 2, coronavirus na, and I met the daughter kanina, and they’re going there to see (her),” he said in an ambush interview. “Pagka-coronavirus, i-cremate agad.”
(Initially, they said it’s not coronavirus – that was February 1 report. But on February 2, they said it was coronavirus, and I met the daughter a while ago, and they’re going to see her. If it is coronavirus, she will be cremated immediately.)
However, Bello did not immediately specify whether the coronavirus was the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).