READY FOR SERVICE. A 16-unit Covid-19 control and prevention center in Datu Abdullah Sangki (DAS), Maguindanao is all set for possible Covid-19 patients, particularly for repatriated migrant workers who were earlier stalled in various parts of the world due to lockdowns wrought by the pandemic. The DAS patient care center (inset) was opened last May 1, 2020. (BPI-BARMM file photo)
COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), in coordination with its local government units, has set up more quarantine facilities across the region for repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), an official said.
During a virtual presser, BARMM's health minister Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan said Wednesday they have somehow managed to control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in BARMM but expressed concern over the homecoming of OFWs, among them seafarers.
"We are anxious that the OFWs might be carriers of Covid-19 and that they might spread the virus in their areas," Dipatuan said.
Because of this, he said, the BARMM has continuously established Covid-19 patient care centers across the region.
To date, a total of 90 quarantine facilities have been made available across the BARMM.
The provincial government of Basilan has recently converted its old capitol building and the Sumisip District Hospital as quarantine facilities, according to Dipatuan.
Sibakel Island, a remote island in Basilan, also serves as a quarantine area for hundreds of repatriated Filipinos who sailed from Malaysia.
He also mentioned that the 100-bed capacity isolation facility constructed by the BARMM in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao is nearing completion.
Maguindanao’s provincial government has recently reopened the Parang District Hospital to serve as one of the isolation facilities in the province.
"The provincial governments of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have also set up several quarantine facilities. So, we do not lack isolation facilities for our returning migrant workers," Dipatuan said Thursday.
Since the declaration of a public health emergency in the country, the BARMM has only recorded a total of 11 Covid-19-confirmed patients, six of whom have fully recovered, one is still in strict home quarantine, and four have died.
The region also recorded seven probable Covid-19 cases – four in Sulu, and one each in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan.
Dipatuan said of the 285 suspected cases in the region, 211 have completed their quarantine. (PNA)
