The Philippines' ambassador to Lebanon died of coronavirus Thursday, as the Lebanese health ministry said there were 16 deaths in the country since the start of the pandemic.
The Philippines' department of foreign affairs expressed its "deep sadness" at the passing of Bernardita Catalla, which it said was the result of "complications arising from COVIC-19".
Catalla had been very active in recent months organizing the repatriation of some of the tens of thousands of Filipino domestic workers hoping to leave the country.
A severe currency crisis in Lebanon has had a major impact on foreign domestic workers, who no longer have dollars to send home and can be restricted in their freedom of movement by an archaic sponsorship system.
Catalla's death and three other fatalities reported by the health ministry on Thursday brought to 16 the number of people confirmed to have died from the virus in Lebanon.
Officially, there were 494 infections after 15 more cases were detected in the past 24 hours.
Strict confinement guidelines as part of a so-called general mobilization have been issued by the Lebanese government, including a 7:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew that is followed with varying degree depending on the city and neighborhood.
