Cotabato City (May 2, 2020)—While General Community Quarantine (GCQ) is being implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), component Local Government Units (LGUs) are continuously intensifying their efforts in controlling the spread of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) in the region.
BARMM’s Health Minister Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan said among the proactive measures are the LGUs’ initiatives in setting up Community Isolation Facilities (CIFs) for Covid-19.
In the municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki (DAS) in Maguindanao province, a Covid-19 Control and Prevention Center was inaugurated on Friday, May 1.
DAS Mayor Datu Pax Mangudadatu said the center was built as part of the local government’s efforts in containing the spread of the coronavirus and to prepare for the ‘worst-case scenario’ that may occur.
The center was established in coordination with the DAS’ Rural Health Unit (RHU), Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO)- Maguindanao, Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
It is equipped with patient transport vehicles, hospital beds, oxygen tanks, regulators, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies, triage area, Holy Qur’an and praying materials, Bible for Christian constituents, psycho-social interventions with IPHO, and others.
“Patients, who will undergo quarantine in the said center and whose livelihood will be affected, will receive cash assistance or livelihood program from the local government,” Mangudadatu said.
Earlier on April in the province of Lanao del Sur, the Provincial Government, led by Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr., has converted a 46-housing facility into a community quarantine facility located at Barangay Emi Punud in Marawi City.
Governor Adiong said this initiative is a “preparation in case of a sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 patients in the province.”
As per BARMM’s latest Covid-19 situation report, Lanao del Sur has recorded the most number of Covid-19 positive cases, having nine (9) out of the 11 total confirmed cases in the entire region.
Furthermore, a Covid-19 isolation facility is currently being constructed by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW-BARMM) in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, which is estimated to be completed in two weeks time.
“We have already submitted to the Department of Health (DOH) the required manpower who will man the said facility,” Minister Dipatuan said.
He said similar Covid-19 facility construction is also in progress in the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Dipatuan also underscored that the MOH-BARMM is continuously catering the needs for medical supplies and PPE of the hospitals and all medical facilities in the region.
“We advised them to inform us immediately in case their medical supplies and PPE deplete, for the ministry to address it the soonest possible,” Dipatuan said.
Meanwhile, the entire LGUs of BARMM provinces—Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi—have also been leading the ongoing house-to-house distribution of relief assistance to the affected communities, as part of the Bangsamoro Government’s approach in addressing Covid-19 crisis. (Bureau of Public Information)
