31 Filipinos in Kuwait die of COVID-19, including 4 medical frontliners

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 31 Filipinos in Kuwait have so far died of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) including four medical frontliners, Philippine Charge d’ Affaires Charleson Hermosura said Thursday.

In a televised public briefing, Hermosura said they have received reports that some 300 Filipinos in the Gulf State have contracted the respiratory disease, although around 260 of them have already recovered.

“Nakakalungkot lamang po ay may tatlumpu’t isang namatay including apat na healthcare workers na Filipino dito po sa Kuwait,” Hermosura said.

(It is unfortunate that thirty-one of them have died, including four Filipino  healthcare workers here in Kuwait.)

According to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center, there are currently 56,877 COVID-19 cases in Kuwait, including 46,897 recoveries and 399 deaths.

The diplomat said Kuwait is “straightforward” in dealing with the remains of COVID-19 patients as they are immediately buried either in Muslim or non-Muslim cemeteries with burials held according to the religious traditions of the deceased.

He also reported that around 23,000 Filipinos in Kuwait have been displaced due to loss of jobs or the “no work, no pay schemes.” Some 5,000 of them have received assistance via the Department of Labor and Employment’s AKAP program.

Hermosura then asked Filipinos in Kuwait to keep an eye on their Facebook page so they can know updates about consular services.

JE