The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) on Thursday clarified that the cause of death of a Filipina maid in Dubai was not due to novel coronavirus.
READ MORE: Filipina domestic worker in Dubai dies
In a statement sent to The Filipino Times, MoHAP said: “This is to inform you that the United Arab Emirates has not recorded any deaths from the new coronavirus 2019 nCoV.”
“All cases registered in the country have been officially announced and all of them are in stable health condition and there is nothing true about the news,” the statement added.
Earlier today, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told reporters that the 58-year-old Filipina domestic worker succumbed to a respiratory illness, adding that they received a second death report identifying the cause of death as “coronavirus”. He however clarified that it was not immediately known what specific kind of coronavirus.
Bello said the family is now asking assistance to bring home the body of the OFW as her remains are already set to be cremated in Dubai.
He said the woman had been working as a domestic helper for 28 years in emirate and had no pre-existing health conditions.
“Coronavirus lang ang nakalagay, wala akong nakita [2019-]nCoV. Basta namatay nang walang problema o sakit,” Bello told TFT. “Nung February 1 kasi ang sabi lang sa report ay respiratory illness. Then came February 2, coronavirus ang nakalagay sa second report.”
According to the World Health Organization, “coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).” Its new strain, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), was first reported in Wuhan, the ground zero of the outbreak.
