MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino worker in Macau tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making him the 15th person to contract the disease in the city, Macau’s government confirmed.

The 31-year-old male is a registered non-resident restaurant worker in a casino property, according to a government advisory on Wednesday, March 18. He was admitted at the Conde S. Januário Hospital.

The advisory also showed that he travelled to the Philippines from January 27 to March 15 to visit his family. He returned to Macau on March 16 through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.  

A day after, the Filipino went to the Kiang Wu Hospital after suffering toothache, fever, and a rash. He was classified at the hospital as a person with “moderate risk of COVID-19 infection.” 

The worker was sent back to his residence after he received treatment and got tested for coronavirus. The samples examined at the Macau Public Health Clinical Centre later showed that he was positive. 

The Macau government said the Municipal Affairs Bureau directed a cleaning team to disinfect public areas in the worker’s residence. The government will also reach out to his close contacts in Macau.

He is the 127th Filipino outside the country to contract the disease. The breakdown is below:

• Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan – 80
• Grand Princess cruise ship in California – 19
• Singapore – 11
• Hong Kong – 5
• United Arab Emirates – 5
• Lebanon – 2
• France – 1
• Switzerland – 1
• Greece – 1
• United Nations in New York City – 1
• Macau – 1

Of the 126 Filipinos, at least 83 have recovered – 77 from the cruise ship in Japan, 3 in Hong Kong, 2 in Singapore, and 1 in France. 

In the Philippines, there are 217 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 8 recoveries and 17 deaths.

The global death toll due to the virus has surpassed 7,800 while at least 194,000 people were infected across 150 countries. More than 69,000 have since recovered . – Rappler.com