Amid SARS relapses, Pinay survivor returns from HK

Amid reports of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases relapsing, a Filipina SARS survivor is returning home from Hong Kong, the Department of Labor and Employment said yesterday.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the Filipina domestic helper, identified only as "ML," the first Filipino in Hong Kong to fall ill from SARS, is scheduled to fly home on board Philippine Airlines flight on Saturday.

"One of our Filipino workers who got sick of SARS (will) undergo her last chest x-ray on May 9 and she is scheduled to return to the country the following day," Sto. Tomas said.

ML became seriously ill and was confined at the intensive care unit of the Prince of Wales hospital last March 13, days ahead of Filipina domestic helper Adela Dalingay, who died of SARS on March 24.

ML recovered after weeks of treatment and was discharged from the hospital more than a month ago. She decided to terminate her contract as a domestic helper because she wants to be with her family in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.

"She’s been staying at a hotel since she was discharged from the hospital," Sto. Tomas said, giving assurances that ML has fully recovered and is free of the SARS virus.

The SARS epidemic broke out in Hong Kong last February and has affected a total of nine Filipinos there. Of the nine cases, two have died and two are still in hospital, while the rest recovered.

In Singapore, a total of 16 SARS cases, including one death, were recorded among Filipino workers there.

Sto. Tomas said ML will return with her sister and they are scheduled to proceed directly to their hometown of Calapan upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Government officials are expected to welcome ML upon her return, the labor chief said, to assure the public that ML can no longer transmit the SARS virus to other people.

Earlier, Sto. Tomas asked the health department to undertake a campaign to counter the misconception that Filipino overseas workers who recovered from SARS can still transmit the virus.

In Mabalacat, Pampanga, the family of "CY," a 57-year-old woman who was the second Filipino to die of SARS in Hong Kong, reportedly prefer that her ashes not be repatriated, municipal health officer Dr. Oscar Aurelio said.

CY died of SARS Friday night, after more than a month of confinement at a Hong Kong hospital. Her body was cremated a day after her death.

Aurelio stressed that even if CY’s ashes were brought to her hometown, these would not pose any health risks and could even be kept at a relative’s home.