BARMM reports student as latest COVID-19 case

COTABATO CITY – A 22-year-old male student from Maguindanao who is studying in Cebu City is the latest coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirmed case in the Bangsamoro Autonomous

Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In a report Friday, the BARMM’s Ministry of Health (MOH) said the patient is one of the 16 students earlier stranded in Cebu City who availed of the “Balik Probinsya” program. He is from the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in the province.

Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan, MOH-BARMM minster, said that all of the students, upon arrival in the province, directly observed strict quarantine.

"They were brought directly to the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital. They were not allowed to go back

to their respective homes,” Dipatuan said.

All the students are currently quarantined at the isolation facility of the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao.

The MOH-BARMM said the patient is in stable condition. His laboratory result came out on Thursday, showing that he is SARS-Cov2-positive.

Mohammad Asnin Pensdatun, spokesperson of the BARMM Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19, said the latest incident should not cause panic among the people of Maguindanao.

“The MOH-BARMM is on top of the situation and providing adequate medical attention to the patient,” he said.

BARMM has so far recorded 12 COVID-19 positive cases.

Of the total number, seven have recovered, one is in isolation, and the four others died.