31.5% Of The Total Nurses That Died From COVID-19 Are Filipino

Filipino nurses make up 4% of nurses in the United States. Sadly, 31.5% of the total nurses that died from COVID-19 are Filipino nurses.

National Nurses United, a nurse union, estimates that 1,718 healthcare workers have died due to the virus. 213 nurses (67 Filipino American) nurses perished since the pandemic started. According to Business Insider, an American financial and business news, nurses across the United States mentioned that hospitals didn’t provide proper types of equipment like masks and gloves from the disease.

In the United Kingdom, there are 57 nurses who died from the Coronavirus through June. Francis Fernando, an officer of the Filipino Nurses UK Association, stated in his interview with Nursing Times that Filipino nurses felt an obligation to follow instructions from their employers as immigrants on a visa, even if it meant they were put in harm’s way. 

Howard Catton, Chief Executive of the International Council of Nurses, called the Philippines a “major supplier of nurses around the world”. Even if these Filipino nurses around the world are at risk of being infected with the virus, it won’t stop them from serving their purpose and their calling in life.