According to the Philippine embassy in Yangon, a Filipino died in Myanmar last week due to COVID-19 amid worsening cases of the disease there.
According to Philippine Ambassador to Myanmar Eduardo Kapunan Jr., the supply of medical oxygen in Myanmar is running low following the increase in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant.
“May isang Flipino nagkaroon ng COVID na ang nagbigay sa kaniya ng oxygen ay employer niya, pero pagdating sa ospital wala na siyang oxygen. So, pumanaw po ‘yung Pilipino na ‘yun. May isang casualty na po tayo sa Myanmar,” he said.
Recently, the situation in Myanmar was raised to alert level 4, where Filipinos working there are recommended to evacuate.
“Ang aming analysis at analysis ng mga doktor doon, sabi nila, ang COVID situation sa Myanmar is nearing catastrophic proportion,” said Kapunan.
“Ibig sabihin niyan, lumalala pero hindi nalalaman ng publiko na lumalala ito because of their reforming system. Plus, of course, ang mga ospital ngayon sa Myanmar fully occupied na,” he added.
According to Kapunan, vaccination has not yet started in Myanmar. However, it is said that some embassies there are also trying to import COVID-19 vaccines.
Filipino in Myanmar dies of COVID-19
Currently, 43 Filipinos have volunteered to return to the Philippines and are scheduled to return home this August.
According to the embassy, about 600 Filipinos left in Myanmar, most of whom work as engineers and teachers and manufacturing companies.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are about 1,273 Filipinos in Myanmar as of June 2020. Many work in the manufacturing industry as supervisors, while a number also work for United Nations agencies and other international organizations.
Meanwhile, it is said that there may be local transmission of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the country.
According to OCTA Research Fellow Guido David, there may be already local transmission of the Delta variant in the Philippines because the release of the results of genome sequencing in the country is not real-time.
“Baka may pagkalat na ng Delta variant sa bansa natin pero di natin alam kung nasaan siya,” said David.
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