No Filipino in Malaysia requested embassy for hospital assistance — envoy

FILE PHOTO: Family members and cemetery workers, wearing protective suits, bury a victim of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a cemetery in Shah Alam, Malaysia July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the threat of the Delta variant, no Filipino in Malaysia has so far reached out to the Philippine embassy there to ask for hospitalization assistance after being stricken with COVID-19, Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Charles Jose said Thursday.

He said the embassy has provided shelter, food, hospital assistance to Filipinos there who have been afflicted by COVID-19.

“With the emergence of the Delta variant, so far we have not received any request for hospitalization from Filipinos infected by the COVID-19 virus, especially by the Delta variant,” Jose said in a televised public briefing.

He added that Filipinos could have been given assistance by the Malaysian government for free.

Since the start of the pandemic last year, 1,135 Filipinos in Malaysia have been afflicted by COVID-19, of which 671 have recovered while 13 have died, Jose said. However, he admitted that these numbers are outdated and the embassy has yet to ask for latest updates on the number of Filipinos still battling the coronavirus disease.

The government of Malaysia is currently trying to stave off the rise of COVID-19 cases spurred by the more infectious Delta variant, by implementing movement control and most especially focusing on its vaccination program.

So far, over 10 million individuals in Malaysia have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while four million have completed the two doses.

The Philippines’ Department of Health is studying the possible imposition of travel restrictions to inbound travelers from Malaysia amid the threat of the Delta variant.

EDV