308 Filipinos in Japan infected with COVID-19, says Embassy official

October 2, 2020

Some 308 Filipinos have been infected with coronavirus disease in Japan but no one was seriously ill, an official from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said on Friday.

In the "Laging Handa" press briefing, Deputy Chief of Mission Robespierre Bolivar said many Filipino patients were discharged from the hospital.

"Our data from the Department of Health and Ministry of Health in Japan showed we have 308 Filipinos who have been infected with COVID-19. Fortunately, we did not hear that anyone of them was in serious condition; many of them have been discharged from the hospital," he said.

"And in the next day or two, we expect that those who have recovered will be discharged from the hospital," Bolivar added.

As of June 30, there were about 335,000 Filipinos in Japan, around 57,000 of them were considered overseas Filipino workers, while the rest were either married or have families and living permanently in Japan.

Meanwhile, Bolivar reminded the Filipinos that Japan is not yet accepting tourists.

"There are those who are asking us through email if they can use already their tourist visa and visit Japan. Japan has not yet allowed tourists and our friends from the government of Japan will announce of the new guidelines in the next few weeks or months of what they will do to further easing the restrictions," he said.

He also advised the Filipinos to better get in touch with the Embassy of Japan in Manila or its consulates in Cebu and Davao to verify if they can still use the visas in going to Japan.

Currently, the official said Japan only allows foreigners who have invitations and are long-term residents there. Celerina Monte/DMS