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Timeline

The COVID-19 pandemic in Lanao del Sur is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) . The virus reached Lanao del Sur on March 11, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed. The first overall COVID-19 case in Mindanao is a resident of Lanao del Sur who went home from San Juan , Metro Manila . The case was that of a 54-year-old man who was admitted at the Adventist Medical Center in his home province and was referred to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center on March 8, a health facility outside the region in Cagayan de Oro after he is suspected to have COVID-19. The case was confirmed on March 11. The man had no known travel history abroad and was suspected to have contracted the disease while he was in Metro Manila. The patient died on March 13 becoming the first COVID-19 death outside Metro Manila. The province later reported additional cases. A leaked advisory from the Bangsamoro regional government dated April 1, listed Lanao del Sur and Marawi as one of the areas in the whole country to "with local transmission/under enhanced community quarantine". The region's Ministry of Health later issued a clarification that the document is still unofficial and not final and dispelled rumors arising from the leak that the two localities have already have local transmission of COVID-19.

Response

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) of the Philippine national government in April 2020, has appointed Bangsamoro Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim to lead the regional inter-agency task group for Bangsamoro. The Bangsamoro regional government has allotted at least ₱1.9 billion for its response against the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. In March 2020, Lanao del Sur and Marawi were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Tawi Tawi and Cotabato City were likewise placed under ECQ by April 2020. The whole of Bangsamoro transitioned to a general community quarantine on May 1 with request to extend ECQ imposition in Lanao del Sur and Marawi rejected by the national IATF-IED.

Hospital equipment

“In the whole region, only three (3) ventilators are available, and these are all in Maguindanao Provincial Hospital,” BARMM’s Minister of Health Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan said during a virtual press briefing here Wednesday, April 15, 2020. A ventilator is a machine necessary for treating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who suffer from severe pneumonia or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

Testing and quarantine facilities

The Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City has a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing facility which test suspected COVID-19 cases in the Bangsamoro and Soccsksargen regions. The Bangsamoro regional government has provided ₱14 million aid to the hospital to fund the upgrade of its laboratory and training of its staff. The hospital received accreditation to conduct test in May 2020. The Bangsamoro region's Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works has constructed a 100-bed capacity COVID-19 isolation facility near the Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital in Sultan Kudarat , Maguindanao . Another facility is being set up in Datu Blah Sinsuat Hospital The capacity of the region's isolation facilities across all of its five provinces is 4,360 beds.

Parliament sessions

When the Bangsamoro Parliament resumed its session on June 16, 2020, some of its members participated via video conferencing and those who were physically present wore masks and observed social distancing by seating two seats apart from each other.

Religious sector

Muslim worship in the province has been affected by the pandemic. The Regional Darul Ifta' of Bangsamoro has suspended all congregational prayers in the Bangsamoro region from March 19 to April 10, 2020. The Islamic advisory body has also issued a fatwa further suspending congregational prayers in mosques during the whole Ramadan period and has advised Muslims to hold Taraweeh prayers in their residences. The Darul Ifta' released another advisory clarifying that congregational prayers are still suspended even as the whole province was placed under general community quarantine starting May 1. The suspension on congregational prayers were provisionally lifted from June 1 to 15, provided that mosques will be used 50 percent of its capacity at most per prayer session.

Notes

1. ^ Breakdown of confirmed cases is according to the COVID-19 Case Tracker of the Department of Health. Includes cases of Cotabato City which are accounted for by the Department of Health's Soccsksargen field office but excludes its special geographic area in Cotabato province.

References

1. Arguillas, Carolyn (April 4, 2020). "Mindanao breaches 100-mark in COVID-19 cases; Davao region tops with 69". MindaNews. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
2. Timonera, Bobby (March 12, 2020). "Mindanao's first COVID-19 case went home to Lanao Sur before admission in Iligan hospital and later CDO" . MindaNews. Retrieved March 23, 2020
3. Butardo, Maria Cecilia (March 17, 2020). "COVID-19 positive patient dies in Lanao del Sur" . ABS-CBN News. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
4. Arguillas, Carolyn (April 22, 2020). "At least 43 COVID-19 cases in Mindanao traced to Davao's 6-cock derby" . MindaNews. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
5. Biong, Ian (April 2, 2020). "Bangsamoro MOH clarifies leaked advisory: No local transmission in Lanao del Sur, Marawi". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 22,2020.
6. Ermac, Bonita (March 20, 2020). "Lanao del Sur, Marawi City placed under enhanced community quarantine". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
7. "CRMC gets accreditation as first Covid-19 testing lab in BARMM". Philippine News Agency. May 21, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
8. Maulana, Nash (April 15, 2020). "Murad signs P14M fund transfer in aid of CRMC upgrade" . Manila Standard. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
9. Saiden, Albashir (March 20, 2020). "BARMM suspends all congregational prayers due to Covid-19". pna.gov.ph. Philippine News Agency. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
10. Sarmiento, Bong (April 21, 2020). "Bangsamoro Region gears up for Ramadan". MindaNews. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
11. Fernandez, Edwin (May 5, 2020). "Suspension of Ramadan mass assembly in BARMM stays amid GCQ". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
12. Valdez, Warren Elijah (June 1, 2020). "Darul-Ifta' lifts ban on mass prayers at mosques". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved June 10, 2020.