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Dubai Media Office clarifies cause of death of 58-yr-old Filipina

The Dubai Media Office on February 6 stressed that the death of a Filipina maid in Dubai was not due to novel coronavirus.
In a statement on Twitter, the Dubai Media Office denied earlier reports that the Filipina succumbed to the new strain of the virus.
“The Government of Dubai Media Office denies the validity of the statement made by the Philippine labor secretary regarding the death of a Filipino woman in Dubai, alleging that it was due to coronavirus. She was suffering from respiratory infection and laboratory tests showed she did not have the virus,” the statement read in English.

نفى المكتب الإعلامي لحكومة دبي صحة التصريحات المنقولة عن وزير العمل الفلبيني بشأن وفاة امرأة فلبينية في دبي بسبب فيروس كورونا المستجد، حيث أن المتوفاة كانت تعاني من التهاب الجهاز التنفسي وأظهرت التحاليل المخبرية عدم اصابتها بالفيروس المذكور.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 6, 2020


Earlier today, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told reporters that the 58-year-old Filipina domestic worker died due 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.
READ ALSO: Death of Filipina maid in Dubai not due to 2019-nCoV, says MoHAP
Bello said the family is now asking for 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.
READ ALSO: 58-year-old Filipina domestic worker dies in Dubai

Staff Report

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