Filipino seafarer aboard Grand Princess dies of COVID-19

Carrying multiple people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the Grand Princess maintains a holding pattern about 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, Sunday, March 8, 2020. The cruise ship was scheduled to dock at the Port of Oakland. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino seafarer from the docked MV Grand Princess in San Francisco, California succumbed to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco announced on Saturday.

In a statement, Consul General Henry Bensurto Jr. said that the seafarer, who was not named, died on April 1.

Message of Sympathies from Consul General Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. pic.twitter.com/j8LuHECpro

— Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco (@PHLinSF) April 4, 2020

“We salute him for his dedication to his job and for the sacrifices that he made for his family,” Bensurto said.

“The Consulate General will continue to coordinate with concerned authorities on the appropriate handling of the remains of the deceased and assist with relevant formalities,” he added.

Previously, the Department of Foreign Affairs repatriated 444 Filipinos — 438 crew members and six passengers— from the docked ship.

Meanwhile, 78 Filipino crew members volunteered to remain on the ship citing maintenance purposes, the DFA added.

The COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that first emerged in China’s city of Wuhan in Hubei province in late 2019.

That novel coronavirus was later named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.

The viral disease has infected 1,118,304 people worldwide, and has claimed the lives of 59,221.

Edited by JPV