BARMM reports 11 COVID-19 cases among 'Balik Probinsya' students
By Warren Elijah Valdez
SULTAN KUDARAT – A total of 11 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was recorded by the Ministry of Health of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MOH-BARMM) on Tuesday, May 26.
Health Minister Dr. Sarfullah Dipatuan confirmed that the new cases were from the batch of 16 students, who arrived in the province from Cebu last May 15 after they availed of the government’s “Balik-Probinsya” program for locally stranded individuals (LSI).
“Before, we only have one COVID-19 case who was also a student who came from Cebu, but now, 11 were added (on the cases),” Dipatuan said.
It can be recalled that on May 22, the MOH-BARMM reported a COVID-19 case involving a 22-year-old male student , who was also one of the 16 students who recently came from Cebu. The patient was a resident of Datu Saudi Ampatuan.
Meanwhile, the MOH-BARMM, on its May 26 report, bared that LSIs from Cebu City “were directly admitted” at the isolation facility in Maguindanao Provincial Hospital upon their arrival at Maguindanao last May 16.
The agency said that 12 out of the 16 individuals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen which causes COVID-19. It was also revealed that nine out of the 12 individuals were asymptomatic.
It was also found out that of the 11 new positives, five were residents of Sultan Kudarat, and one each from Shariff Aguak, Datu Piang, Buluan, South Upi, Datu Odin Sinsuat, and Datu Paglas.
Dipatuan, however, assured that there was no need for the public to be worried as the students were immediately brought to the isolation facility in Maguindanao Provincial Hospital after they arrived.
“They were not allowed to go home immediately. They have to be quarantined for fourteen days and they underwent testing,” he added, noting that the individuals are in good conditions while under a strict isolation.
On the other hand, the four other remaining students who tested negative for COVID-19 were still undergoing a “strict quarantine.”
With the new cases, this brings the total number of COVID-19 positives in BARMM to 23. Of the figure, 13 were recorded in the province of Maguindanao; nine in Lanao del Sur; and one positive case in Sulu.