By Roy Mabasa
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday recorded three new fatalities and 34 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Filipinos abroad with 16 new recoveries.
This brings the total number of overseas Filipinos with confirmed COVID-19 cases to 5,218.
“Based on the latest figures, the daily rate of confirmed cases decreased with only 34 new cases while the daily rate of recoveries increased with 16 new recoveries in the Americas and the Middle East. Three new fatalities were also recorded in the Middle East,” the DFA said in a report.
This development came a day after the DFA reported more than 2,300 cases of infections among the nationals abroad, the biggest number of infections ever recorded among Filipinos since the start of the outbreak.
The foreign affairs office attributed the noticeable spike to the late reports received by the various foreign service posts (FSPs) in the Middle East where many host governments implement strict data privacy and confidentiality rules.
With some countries easing their existing travel and mobility restrictions, the DFA assured that its personnel in FSPs will continue to actively monitor the status of the Filipino community abroad and work to safely repatriate the stranded nationals home.
Of the 5,218 confirmed cases, 2,709 are considered active cases, 2167 have recovered and 342 died from the disease.