No COVID-19 infected Filipino in China so far, PH envoy says

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana on Monday said that no Filipino in China has so far contracted the the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so far.

In an interview during a “public” briefing aired over state-run PTV, Sta. Romana noted that Filipinos in China are doing well health-wise but are now struggling economically because of work stoppage.

“Sa mainland, hindi kasali ang Hong Kong at Macau, walang Filipino na nainfect ng COVID-19 hanggang ngayon. Magandang balita ito,” Sta. Romana said.

“Sa kabuuan mahusay naman ang kalagayan ng mga FIlipino dito sa China. Ang problema dito ay trabaho kasi karamihan ng mga kababayan natin ay mga teacher, o kaya mga musician or hotel workers at marami din ang mga household workers,” he added.

But Sta. Romana assured that the Philippine Embassy in China will extend necessary assistance to affected Filipino workers.

To date, China has recorded more than 82,000 confirmed COVID0-19 cases, a vast majority of whom were detected in the province of Hubei, the epicenter of the pandemic.

Around 76,000 of the patients have since recovered while over 3,100 died.

Sta. Romana said the situation in China is now improving as fewer cases were recorded in the past few days, most of whom are deemed “imported cases.”

The respiratory disease has so far infected over 720,000 worldwide, nearly 34,000 of whom have died.

In the Philippines, 1,418 have been infected with 71 deaths and 42 recoveries.

GSG