86 OFWs test positive for COVID-19 — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 86 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as of Monday, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) for public health services, said that 80 of the OFWs were from Japan. Of this number, forty-eight are still in hospitals, while 32 have been discharged after recovering from the disease.

The rest in the figure are two each in Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. The most recent case is a 41-year-old Filipino who was admitted to a hospital in Singapore.

“The Philippine Government has repatriated 10 Overseas Filipinos from the M/V Diamond Princess cruise ship who were initially [tested] positive for COVID-19 and were later discharged after their recovery,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement read by Vergeire in a press briefing.

Vergeire said the DOH is adopting contingency plans as the World Health Organization raised its risk assessment on COVID-19 to very high at the regional and global levels.

Currently, as many as 58 countries have confirmed cases of the fatal disease, including 20 countries that recorded local transmission of the virus.

“We are more than ready to cater to the needs of our kababayans should they test positive for COVID-19. We are also geared up for the possibility of local transmission,” assured Duque.

He added that the DOH had “adequately” trained health personnel to carefully handle patients who have tested positive for the virus.

As of Monday, 43 patients are still admitted to health facilities here in the country on suspicion that they have contracted the disease.