No Filipino infected with coronavirus in India — envoy

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Embassy in India on Wednesday said no Filipinos were among the over 200,000 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the South Asian country.

According to Philippine Ambassador to India Ramon S. Bagatsing, Jr., there are only a few Filipino workers in India and that most of them are “secured and safe,” although there are some who have expressed interest in going back to Manila amid the COVID-19 crisis.

He also reported that the embassy has been helping stranded seafarers and have sent home at least 160 Filipino workers there.

But he noted that the main trouble they are facing now is the lack of flights from India to the Philippines.

Fortunately, the diplomat said he was able to request Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to allow a Philippine Navy ship from Oman to pass by India to ferry the Filipinos before heading back to Manila.

“So far so good, at nagpapasalamat kami sa lahat ng mga tumulong sa amin na mapauwi natin ang ating mga kababayan,” Bagatsing said in a televised public briefing.

According to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, there are currently 207,191 COVID-19 cases in India, including 100,285 recoveries and 5,829 deaths.

However, Bagatsing said the situation in the second-most populous country in the world has started to get better with the Indian authorities relaxing some movement restrictions and allowing more sectors to reopen after strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the respiratory illness.