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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Luzon devider 79 LSIs bound for BaSulTa test positive for COVID-19

79 LSIs bound for BaSulTa test positive for COVID-19

Published Jul 14, 2020 10:09 am

ZAMBOANGA CITY -The Bangsamoro Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) has confirmed that 79 returning locally stranded individuals, including seven minors aged seven to 13 years old, have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Spokesperson and Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said of the total 405 LSIs, 257 received the results of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests on Monday, while 148 others were still awaiting their own test results.

The LSIs all came from Manila, and are currently being housed in four isolation facilities in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

They were all bound for the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, but were re-routed to Cagayan de Oro City on July 7.

“The original plan was to process those who tested negative to ride a navy vessel which we have asked the Western Mindanao Command to provide, but we decided to quarantine all of them for 14 days regardless if they are positive or not,” he added.

Sinarimbo noted the high infection rate arose from the population which resulted to putting all of them under quarantine.

“We felt then that there’s no chance they weren’t contaminated considering what they went through from Manila to Cagayan de Oro and up to this moment. At every stage of the travel, these people were all mixed up,” Sinarimbo  explained.

Sinarimbo emphasized that the BARMM Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) and Ministry of Health (MOH) were already attending to the basic and essential needs of the LSIs since their arrival, including their immediate swab tests.

Sinarimbo assured the public that these LSIs followed strict protocol, and were directly brought to the isolation facilities in Sultan Kudarat.

“They were not permitted to leave the bus except when they had their profile checked and swab test at the Cotabato Sanitarium Isolation Center. After that, they went back to their respective buses,” he said.

“The events started on Tuesday,  July 7, when we received a text message from DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) national informing us that 414 LSIs will disembark at the port of Cagayan de Oro City and that these LSIs are supposedly bound for Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi,” Sinarimbo said.

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