97 Filipinos afflicted with COVID-19 in Europe
Published Mar 31, 2020 05:45 am
By Roy Mabasa
Philippine Ambassador to Italy Domingo Nolasco on Tuesday said there are 97 Filipinos stricken with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the entire Europe, including those in Italy, one of the epicenters of the pandemic.
A deserted street is pictured, after Italy reinforced the lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy (REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello/MANILA BULLETIN)
In a phone-patch interview during the Laging Handa program of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) on PTV-4, Domingo said they were only able to validate the status of Filipinos with confirmed COVID-19 cases either through their respective relatives or their employers.
He said this is due to the strict privacy law being implemented in most European countries, including Italy.
“There are Filipinos affected by COVID-19 but due to the strict privacy law here, we cannot provide the details. As of yesterday, there are 87 confirmed cases of Filipinos with COVID-19, including those who are here in Italy. We learned about these cases through their relatives or employers. The (Italian) government does not provide (details of COVID-19 cases), the Philippine envoy said.
Nolasco said there are Filipinos who have been calling the Embassy seeking either financial assistance or repatriation, many of whom lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
“We operate on a one-country team approach together with representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). We evaluate them individually if their request for repatriation is legitimate since many still desire to return here until everything is over,” he said.
On the promised financial assistance for distressed OFWs, Domingo said the Embassy has yet to meet with DOLE and OWWA representatives as to when the dole-outs will be distributed to affected members of the Filipino community in Italy.
He noted that Italy is currently under restrictive movement policy where everyone is prohibited to go out except to buy food or medicine or for an emergency case.
A deserted street is pictured, after Italy reinforced the lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Catania, Italy (REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello/MANILA BULLETIN)
In a phone-patch interview during the Laging Handa program of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) on PTV-4, Domingo said they were only able to validate the status of Filipinos with confirmed COVID-19 cases either through their respective relatives or their employers.
He said this is due to the strict privacy law being implemented in most European countries, including Italy.
“There are Filipinos affected by COVID-19 but due to the strict privacy law here, we cannot provide the details. As of yesterday, there are 87 confirmed cases of Filipinos with COVID-19, including those who are here in Italy. We learned about these cases through their relatives or employers. The (Italian) government does not provide (details of COVID-19 cases), the Philippine envoy said.
Nolasco said there are Filipinos who have been calling the Embassy seeking either financial assistance or repatriation, many of whom lost their jobs due to COVID-19.
“We operate on a one-country team approach together with representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). We evaluate them individually if their request for repatriation is legitimate since many still desire to return here until everything is over,” he said.
On the promised financial assistance for distressed OFWs, Domingo said the Embassy has yet to meet with DOLE and OWWA representatives as to when the dole-outs will be distributed to affected members of the Filipino community in Italy.
He noted that Italy is currently under restrictive movement policy where everyone is prohibited to go out except to buy food or medicine or for an emergency case.