COVID-19 sickens more than 3,000 OFWs in Qatar, says DOLE
MANILA, Philippines — Over 3,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Qatar have tested positive for the new coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) revealed Tuesday.
According to DOLE, a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor and Employment Office (POLO) in Qatar has shown that a total of 3,052 OFWs in the Middle Eastern country contracted COVID-19 and that 17 of whom succumbed to the disease.
Meanwhile, DOLE said the POLO in Oman reported that 122 OFWs have recovered from the ailment caused by SARS-CoV-2 while four have died. DOLE did not mention the total number of Filipino migrant workers who contracted the virus in Oman.
Labor Attaché Gregorio Abalos, Jr. of POLO Oman said 107 OFWs have received the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) financial assistance, which is a one-time $200 (P10,000) cash aid to OFWs whose sources of incomes were affected by the pandemic.
The POLO in Israel, DOLE added, recorded 65 OFWs infected with COVID-19 with 56 recoveries and one fatality.
“Among the latest confirmed cases include two Filipinas who are both quarantined at Prima Park Hotel in Jerusalem,” DOLE said.
Article continues after this advertisement“The country is also on the second lockdown to prevent visitors in synagogues on the eve of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which is the holiest day in Judaism,” it added.
Article continues after this advertisementLabor Attaché Rodolfo Gabasan of the POLO in Israel said a total of 336 OFWs have received aid through the AKAP as of September 27.
In Europe, DOLE said that its POLO in Spain reported 85 recoveries among Filipinos there while six died due to the disease.
DOLE likewise said that eight OFWs in France have already recovered while six succumbed to COVID-19. The POLO in Germany, meanwhile, reported that 80 Filipinos there has so far recovered from the illness while seven Filipinos in Belgium have also recovered from the disease.
The latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs revealed that a total of 10,467 Filipinos abroad have contracted COVID-19.
Of the number, 6,676 have already recovered while 792 have died.
KGA
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