MANILA – Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose C. Laurel V said all Filipino workers and residents in Japan who were infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have recovered.
During a Laging Handa briefing aired Monday over state-run PTV4, Laurel said based on their latest data, no Filipino in Japan died of the dreaded virus.
“Kakaunting Pilipino ang naapektuhan dito, alinsunod sa mga records na natatanggap namin dito (very few Filipinos got infected with Covid-19 here, based on our records),” Laurel said.
Based on the data gathered by the embassy, only six individuals got infected with the coronavirus in Tokyo, and one in Nagoya.
All these individuals have recovered.
In Osaka, 21 people were infected with the coronavirus and 19 has so far recovered.
Filipino seafarers in Japan who got sick and recovered from Covid-19 were already repatriated back to the Philippines by the national government.
These include some 80 seafarers working for the Diamond Princess and 41 from MV Costa Atlantica.
Meanwhile, Laurel clarified that the Philippine Embassy in Japan has not closed doors.
“Hindi ho kami nagsasara. Nagkaroon lamang kami ng skeletal force. Sa katunayan ako ay humingi ng tulong sa ating Consul General na si Serna Chua, dahil ako’y hindi nakasisiguro na nagbabago ang mga data (we never closed. We only had skeletal force. I even asked Consul General Serna Chua), pero as of now these are the latest, and we are now half-open and half-close,” he said.
Repatriation, assistance
Laurel said data by the Philippine Embassy in Japan showed around 1,000 Filipino workers were sent home to the country.
Aside from the OFWs, included in the figure are tourists and students who are done studying in Japan or who took up training courses there.
At present, there are only 126 remaining and waiting for repatriation while the embassy is arranging for their flights back home.
Laurel said the Japanese government also gave cash assistance for registered foreign workers and to foreign students who have proper legal documentation in Japan.
More than the assistance given by the government to the overseas Filipinos and workers in different countries, Laurel that until a vaccine is discovered, life will never be the same again.
“What is essential for us really as a part of humanity is to really discover the antidote to this virus and unless you find this and we are able to discover it, produce it, distribute it and apply it, it will be quite sometime before we go back to the normalcy of life,” Laurel said.
Recent data from the Japan coronavirus tracker showed confirmed cases have now reached more than 17,000 while more than 15,000 have recovered, which is 89 percent of the total cases.