The government of the United Arab Emirates confirmed on Friday that the recent death of a 58-year-old overseas Filipino worker based in Dubai City was unrelated to the 2019 n-COV strain. The woman, a household worker, died of pneumonia.
Earlier, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that a Filipina in Dubai died from an unspecified strain of coronavirus this month. While the corona virus family is actually quite large and diverse, ranging from the common flu to more serious respiratory diseases, public misinformation and fears soon began to spread.
DOLE has since issued an apology to the government of Dubai for the confusion caused by their announcement. Though technically correct, using the term “coronavirus” would typically trigger people to think of the 2019 n-COV strain.
As of Friday morning, the UAE has five confirmed n-COV cases and no deaths.
DOLE is currently working on repatriating the deceased OFW’s remains following cremation in Dubai.
