Filipino COVID-19 positive takes life after losing job

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‘Deceased was under medication for Addison’s disease’

KUWAIT CITY, April 25: A Filipino who allegedly took his own life on Friday at the Amiri Hospital after testing positive of COVID-19 seemed to be suffering from depression after learning that he was terminated from work by his company based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, disclosed one of the health workers to the Arab Times after seeing the deceased sobbing on Thursday prior to getting his COVID-19 test results. “He was crying so hard when we saw him around 4pm on Thursday. He felt so depressed because of his situation as a PUI (person under investigation) for Corona and he said he received his official termination from work. We tried talking to him and he felt a bit better. He was still waiting for his COVID-19 test result at that time,” stated the health worker.

According to reliable sources, he was admitted to the Amiri Hospital on April 22. On April 24, around 2:45 am, health workers noticed that he was not in his bed prompting them to look for him and they found him inside the comfort room and he allegedly committed suicide using a phone charger wire.

His positive COVID-19 test result came out on April 24. The deceased, 44, married, with three kids was working as a Senior Manager- Mechanical Engineer for a company in Abu Dhabi, UAE and was sent by his company in March to oversee a project in Kuwait but was stranded in the country after Kuwait declared a public holiday on March 12 and all commercial flights were suspended amid the pandemic.

He was staying in one of the hotels in Kuwait City for more than a month before the incident happened. “I was really shocked this morning. We were even texting to each other last Thursday. I was asking him how he was. His last text to me last Thursday was not so good. He said, he felt terrible,” recounted Danny, not his real name, who stayed in the same hotel but is now back in the Philippines when Kuwait allowed commercial outbound flights.

Speaking to the Arab Times on the phone, Danny disclosed that the deceased was under medication for Addison’s disease but he ran out of medicine due to the lockdown. Addison’s disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency and hypocortisolism, is a longterm endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones. Symptoms generally come on slowly and may include abdominal pain, weakness, and weight loss.

“He was complaining of body weakness because he ran out of medicine so I even called up a doctor friend to issue a prescription but he said it’s okay because he has some friends who are nurses and he can secure the prescription for the medicine. My room was next to his room but he rarely went out. I even sometimes shared with him some food home-cooked by my friends and leave the food outside his door. We maintain social distancing though,” shared Danny.

Danny who flew back to Manila this week even advised the deceased to go back to the Philippines and wait for his flight to Abu Dhabi from there but the latter refused for fear of losing his job. “He stayed in Kuwait because he doesn’t want to lose his job.

In fact, when he learned that his company has been terminating employees, he told me that he was confident that the company will keep him because he is close to the CEO that’s why I’m still in shock. From the brief time that have I met and known him, he’s a family-oriented man. My condolences to his family and we pray for his soul’s eternal repose,” stated Danny who is now in the Philippines on a 14- day mandatory quarantine as ordered by the Philippine government for all returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Philippines

By Michelle Fe Santiago Arab Times Staff

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