Bello apologizes to Dubai for mistake on nCoV info

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III apologized on Friday to the government of Dubai for the “confusion” and “anxiety” his announcement might have caused after it was reported that he announced that a Filipino worker had died there of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The Department of Labor and Employment said that Bello attributed the death of overseas worker Amalia Collado Daproza to the coronavirus “based on an earlier information provided his office.”

“The secretary, however, did not say it was the novel coronavirus. [N]onetheless, [he] wishes to apologize to the government of Dubai for the confusion and whatever anxiety that the announcement may have caused,” it said.

Confirmatory tests done by the Dubai Health Authority on Daproza, an office worker, showed that she was negative for nCoV but that she suffered from a “respiratory infection.” —Jovic Yee

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