Bello apologizes to Dubai for saying OFW died of coronavirus

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Friday apologized to the government of Dubai for saying that a Filipina there died of coronavirus.

In a statement, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) also clarified that the Filipina, identified as Amalia Collado Daproza, did not die from the novel coronavirus.

"Based on a belated report received by the office of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III from the Philippine Labor Office in Dubai, results of confirmatory tests conducted by the Pathology and Genetics Department of the Dubai Health Authority on Daproza’s specimen yielded negative of the novel corona virus," DOLE said.

"Secretary Bello nonetheless wishes to apologize to the government of Dubai for the confusion and whatever anxiety that the announcement may have caused."
 
Bello on Thursday announced that the OFW had died of "coronavirus" based on an earlier information provided his office. He, however, did not say it was the novel coronavirus.

But in a Facebook post, the Dubai Government Media Office said tests conducted on the deceased showed that she did not have the virus.

"The Dubai government media office denied the validity of the statements by the Philippine minister of labor regarding the death of a Filipino woman in Dubai due to the new corona virus," the post read.

"The deceased was suffering from respiratory infection and laboratory tests showed she did not have the virus," it added. —KBK, GMA News