ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews / 19 July) — COVID-19 in the two Lanao provinces have continued to rise with the arrival of returning resident: 158 in Lanao del Sur and 93 in Lanao del Norte.
Lanao del Sur is under the Bangsmaoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while Lanao del Norte is under Region 10 or Northern Mindanao.
Zia Alonto Adiong, Bangsamoro Member of Parliament and spokesperson of the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force of Lanao del Sur, said as of July 19 Lanao del Sur has 158 cases, 149 of them from among the locally stranded individuals (LSIs) and returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who arrived here when flights were allowed and borders reopened.
The province had maintained the number of cases at nine for over a month until it surged when the LSIs and ROFs arrived.
Seven COVID-19 patients are presently admitted at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center, two in Cotabato Sanitarium in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and two others admitted at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City.
Adiong said 108 or 68% have recovered without complications.
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Dr. Allen Minalang, Provincial health Officer said they have 46 active cases who are currently under isolation. He said 96% of the cases are asymptomatic.
Minalang said a 3 year old child from Malabang, Lanao del Sur who was admitted for pneumonia, tested positive for COVID-19 PCR test but died several hours after admission. This brings the total number of COVID-19 deaths to four. Contact tracing in accordance with standard protocol is ongoing.
In Lanao del Norte, as of July 17, Dra, Teresa Reponte, Acting Provincial Health Officer, reported a total of 93 cases, 63 of them active, 29 recoveries and one death from local transmission in Kawit Occidental, Kauswagan town. Contact tracing is being done in coordination with the Kauswagan Municipal Health Office.
The active cases are currently confined at the Old Kapatagan Provincial Hospital Isolation and Treatment Facility in Kapatagan town. (Richel V. Umel / MindaNews)