Minister Naguib Sinarimbo of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in M Muslim Mindanao. (Photo courtesy of MILG-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – The Ministry of the Interior and Local Governments in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) on Saturday said two residents of the region have died due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) while two were confirmed positive of the disease.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, MILG-BARMM minister, said as of March 20, health workers across the region are closely watching 64 Covid-19 patients and 2,275 persons under monitoring (PUMs).
“Those who recently died were from Marawi City,” Sinarimbo said in a statement.
As of Saturday, the BARMM--comprising the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi and Lamitan and 63 villages of North Cotabato--is under general community quarantine.
Sinarimbo said Maguindanao has the highest number of PUMs with 741 and 24 Covid-19 patients. Basilan and Lamitan City have 406 PUMs and nine Covid-19 patients.
Sulu has 310 PUMs and 23 Covid patients while Tawi-Tawi has 56 PUMs and no Covid-19 patients.
“Cotabato City has one (Covid-19) positive patient,” Sinarimbo said, without saying the residence of the other Covid-19 positive patient.
In the 63 villages in North Cotabato considered as BARMM’s special geographic area, there were 24 PUMs and no PUI.
The BARMM inter-agency task force on Covid-19 continues to appeal to the Islamic preachers who attended the Malaysian religious gathering to submit themselves for medical investigation.
Of the 215 attendees in Malaysia and have returned to the Philippines, two have passed away--one came forward to submit himself for quarantine and investigation while the rest are the subject of a nationwide search by the task force and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos. (PNA)
