No recorded local transmission of COVID-19 in BARMM —health official

No local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been recorded to date in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Health Minister Dr. Safrullah Dipatuan said Wednesday.

Dipatuan said the 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region are “due to returning BARMM residents classified into locally stranded individuals, returning overseas Filipinos, and those availing of the Hatid Probinsya Program.”

Of the 100 cases, 52 are active while 44 have recovered and four have died.

Lanao del Sur recorded 70 cases, while Maguindanao and Basilan have 21 and six cases, respectively.

Sulu has three cases, while Tawi-Tawi remains COVID-free.

In his privilege speech during the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s session on Tuesday, Dipatuan said as early as January 13, the BARMM has advised its residents to stay home, maintain proper hygiene, and boost their immune system to avoid getting infected by the virus.

In March, he added that the Ministry of Health already activated its emergency operation center for COVID-19 in all health facilities all over BARMM.

It has also identified designated hospitals for severe persons under investigation and confirmed COVID-19 patients, Dipatuan said.

"Further, we are continuously providing technical assistance to all of BARMM's provincial and city epidemiology and surveillance units. This entails assistance in the collection, transportation of specimens, and completion of COVID-19 reporting forms. This also includes contact tracing activities in relation to all confirmed cases,” he said.

“We are all aware of the burden of COVID-19 in our health service delivery, we addressed this by allocating financial support to health offices in BARMM,” Dipatuan added.

So far, the MOH has given P50,000 to each of the seven surveillance units in BARMM, P2 million to each of the five provincial health offices, P500,000 to each of the two city health offices, P500,000 to each of the 25 hospitals, and P1 million to the provincial government of Lanao del Sur as augmentation fund for COVID isolation facility in Sagonsongan, Marawi City.

The MOH has also distributed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) kits to its referral hospitals, and provincial and city health offices.

"The allocation of P20,000 for rural health units will be continued beyond this pandemic, and they shall receive it on a monthly basis. The rationale behind this is the fact that RHUs are the primary caregivers and responders in the grassroots level. Thus, we deem it just, and morally sound that they receive this financial assistance," Dipatuan said.

He added that the MOH has done several site visits to various isolation facilities in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur to ensure the safety of to-be quarantined patients.

The MOH has also deployed health workers to Sibakil Island in Lantawan, Basilan to closely monitor and attend to the needs of the deportees from Sabah, Malaysia who are isolated in the island.

Dipatuan also said the ministry has spent about P14 million for personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and disinfectants distributed to health facilities as well as various ministries and agencies in the region.—AOL, GMA News