Cotabato City (August 26, 2020)—The National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 is set to turnover to the Bangsamoro Government supplemental support equipment to step up the fight against Covid-19 in the region.
Sec. Carlito Galvez, chief implementer of the National Action Plan (NAP) Against Covid-19, said Wednesday, August 26, that the NTF is set to turn-over 4,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) sets, 4000 N95 masks, 4,000 surgical masks and 10,900 testing kits to hospitals in the region.
The National Task Force (NTF) met and discussed with the Bangsamoro Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19, during the Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) in Cotabato City, to assess the actual situation of Covid-19 in the region and the Bangsamoro Government’s measures, strategies and challenges faced in implementing localized National Action Plan (NAP) Against Covid-19.
The C.O.D.E. is a protocol for active case finding through close coordination between the Department of Health (DOH) and local communities across the country. It is a patient and community-focused response strategy with key elements incorporated from the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Test-Treat strategy.
“Ang BARMM ang isa sa may pinakamababang naitalang kaso ng Covid-19 sa bansa,” Sec. Galvez said.
As of Tuesday, August 25, the region has 597 Covid-19 cases. 449 of which have recovered, with remaining 133 cases, and 15 deaths.
Meanwhile, the country has 197,164 total number of confirmed cases as of August 24. Some of the patients in this number are active, recovered, or dead.
“We have learned that since the onset of the pandemic, the BARMM Government has focused on increasing the bed capacity of the region’s isolation facilities and health facilities,” Sec. Galvez added.
Each of the region’s five provinces has quarantine facilities, all of the five can cater to about 4,500 individuals, while hospitals has 1,805 bed capacity in their wards, isolation, and intensive care units for Covid-19 patients. The Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City (CRMC) and Amai Pakpak Medical Center (APMC) in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur are the two accredited testing laboratories in the BARMM.
“We ensure that our response and strategy is not only responsive but also collaborative,” BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim Balawag said.
The regional government has since facilitated sending home 23,207 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs) in the region’s five provinces.
NAP Contact Tracing Czar Benjamic Magalong said the region can still enhance its contact tracing capacity to be proactive to current situations in the region.
Sec. Magalong added that the region should adopt a contact tracing ecosystem that consists interviewers, data encoders, data analyst, among others for a better and efficient contact tracing effort. To date, the region has 631 contact tracing teams composed of 6,529 members.
Presidential Communications Sec. Martin Andanar said the continuous effort of the government to inform the public is a crucial help to battle Covid-19.
Sec. Andanar added that the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) would great also help the region facilitate its operations against the pandemic once it is approved by the President.
Meanwhile, the Minsitry of Health (MOH-BARMM), in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and Local Government’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (MILG-READI), also conducted a training on contact tracing for the BARMM-Local Government Units (LGUs) today in the city. Sec. Magalong provided lectures for the participants. (Bureau of Public Information)
