The Philippine Embassy in Washington on Monday asked Filipinos in the United States to strictly follow health protocols in their areas as coronavirus cases surge across the US.
Currently, the US has the most number of COVID-19 cases in the world with 142,000 and nearly 2,500 deaths. New York is the epicenter of the fast-spreading virus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
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The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Consulates General in Agana, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, plus the honorary consular offices throughout the mainland United States, are closely monitoring the rising number of COVID-19 cases and are in touch with the Filipino communities under their areas of jurisdiction, an embassy advisory said.
“We have advised our nationals to strictly follow the protocols instituted by the local officials in their respective communities. We have strongly encouraged them to adhere to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and be circumspect in believing and sharing unverified information,” it said.
Each diplomatic post, it added, has disseminated its emergency contact details and is addressing Filipinos’ inquiries and requests for assistance.
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The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the US is likewise active in monitoring the health, welfare, and employment situation of Filipino workers, it said.
“Developments are regularly submitted to the concerned Philippine government agencies as inputs to policies and programs that may need to be enacted in the near future,” the embassy said.
There are 3.4 million Filipinos in the US and around 310,000 are undocumented, according to embassy statistics.
