Ambassador Belinda M. Ante (left) gives a hygiene kit to Ms. Faith Ruth Villanueva, a teacher at Kiettisack International School, on 9 March 2020 at the Embassy premises as part of the Embassy’s efforts to promote Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention and commemorate National Women’s Month.

The Philippine Embassy in Vientiane, Laos gave away hygiene kits to members of the Filipino community from 9 to 11 March 2020, as part of efforts to promote Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention and commemorate National Women’s Month. A total 250 kits were given away to Filipinos, of which 164 were women.

The kits contained face masks, ethyl alcohol, spray bottles, and wet wipes. In addition, the Embassy included a small flyer in each kit that lists preventive measures to avoid contracting COVID-19, as well as the contact details of hospitals in Laos that conduct COVID-19 tests.

The activity also presented an opportunity for members of the Filipino community to avail of the Embassy’s consular services, namely Embassy registration, Overseas Voting registration, notarials, and passport renewal.

A total of 250 kits were given away by the Embassy, of which 164 were claimed by female members of the Filipino community (photo courtesy of Julie Guilas).

Some FilCom members also availed of consular services, including Embassy registration, when they picked up their hygiene kit.

COVID-19 was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread to more than 80 countries worldwide and infected more than 100,000 people. There is currently no COVID-19 case in Laos but the Lao government has implemented measures to prevent an outbreak in the country, including scaling down on the conduct of events and strengthening monitoring at ports of entry. END