COTABATO CITY – Four more patients have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), health officials said Monday.
Health front-liners in both regions also reported a high rate of recoveries among patients.
BARMM's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that as of Sunday, two more patients in Lanao del Sur (LDS) were confirmed to have the virus, raising the region’s confirmed cases to 115.
Dr. Allen Minalang, Lanao del Sur provincial health officer, said the two patients were from Marawi City who recently returned home as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) in Manila.
With the new cases, Lanao del Sur now has 77 confirmed cases, the majority of whom were “returnees” from other areas.
Minalang said as to the place of origin, 23 came from the city of Manila, followed by Cebu (eight), Baguio (five), Quezon City (four), and the remaining 37 are from other parts of Luzon as well as Mindanao.
“The majority of the cases are residents of Marawi City with 20 while the rest are from Marantao, Bayang, and other municipalities,” Minalang said.
He added: “The good news is that 48 or 62 percent of the confirmed cases have recovered or have been discharged from hospital or quarantine facility.”
Currently, he said they are monitoring 26 active cases who are isolated in the different quarantine facilities of the province and municipalities. Three confirmed patients had so far died from Covid-19 in the province.
Minalang said the surge of new cases was noted after the start of the “Hatid Tulong” program. He said more than 3,000 returning residents under the program had already arrived in Lanao del Sur and continuing up to this time.
“We are (just) fortunate that with our LDS Hatid Tulong program, we were able to detect, trace and catch positive cases and prevented local transmission even as the majority of them are asymptomatic,” Minalang said.
In the Soccsksargen Region, a 36-year-old female Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who returned home was one of the two latest Covid-19 patients in Sultan Kudarat, making her the region’s 59th positive.
The other is a 26-year-old female resident of Sarangani province who has traveled to Manila, particularly Parañaque, before returning to the province on June 14.
“She is in stable condition and awaiting PH number from the Department of Health (DOH) -12, Arjohn Gangoso, speaking for the regional health office, said.
Meanwhile, Gangoso also reported the recovery of a 54-year-old male from South Cotabato who recently traveled to Manila before he was diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“The total number of recoveries in Soccsksargen is now at 33,” he said.
Elsewhere in Soccsksargen, health officials also noted a high rate of recoveries among Covid-19 positive patients.
South Cotabato tops other provinces with 10 recoveries from its 16 reported positive patients; followed by Cotabato City with 13 from 15; Sultan Kudarat with two from 11; and North Cotabato with five from nine patients. (PNA)
