The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases among Filipinos abroad surged anew on Thursday as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported 59 new confirmed cases and 15 new fatalities in its latest tally.Â
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Aside from the increase in the number of cases among overseas Filipinos, the DFA also reported that another country in the African region was added to the list of countries/regions with COVID-19 cases.Â
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Ten new recoveries were also recorded in its latest report gathered from various consulates, embassies and other foreign posts throughout the world.Â
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To date, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among Filipinos is 8,974, with 5,321 recoveries, 3,020 live cases and  633 deaths.Â
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Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait confirmed that 31 Filipinos have succumbed to COVID-19 in that country, including four health care workers.Â
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At the Laging Handa briefing, Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Charleson Hermosura said they have monitored around 300 cases of Filipinos who tested positive for the disease and 260 have already recovered since then.Â
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Also on Thursday, 354 stranded and displaced OFWs safely returned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via a government-chartered special repatriation flight.