MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday confirmed that an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia has been found positive with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
During a press conference, DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said that the 41-year old X-ray technician in Riyadh is currently confined in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a specialist hospital in the country.
Jose said that the OFW could have gotten the disease from a MERS-CoV patient during the first week of March.
The Filipino health worker is among the 15 new cases of MERS-CoV reported by the Saudi Ministry of Health.
The DFA also announced that OFWs with the disease are now under recovery. Three Filipino nurses were earlier isolated as preventive measures.
The first case tested negative but still needs further observation while the second one was already discharged from the ICU. The third case has fully recovered and has returned to work.
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