OFWs in Shanghai may possibly get P10,000 aid due to COVID-19 –DOLE

The Philippine government may possibly provide $200 or over P10,000 financial assistance to each overseas Filipino worker affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said. According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the Department may start providing the financial aid once the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has determined the OFWs who are in the area. The government is currently distributing food and medicines to the OFWs there, DOLE said. The eastern half of Shanghai earlier went into lockdown to curb the nation's biggest COVID-19 outbreak. Chinese authorities then said they would carry out a two-phased lockdown of the city of around 25 million people to carry out mass testing. About 42,000 individuals have been infected by COVID-19 in Shanghai alone. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said that safety measures are still in place regardless of the Philippines opening its borders to foreign tourists, when asked how the government ensures that the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai does not spill over to the Philippines. She explained the Philippines can no longer close and open its borders repeatedly, thus Filipinos should be able to rely on the strategies that the government has imposed to protect the population. The Philippines has opened its borders to foreign tourists, including from visa countries. Only fully vaccinated foreign tourists are allowed entry in the country. They are required to present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to their trip or a negative laboratory-based antigen result taken 24 hours before departure. —Giselle Ombay/KG, GMA News

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