Marawi City”•The provincial chief executive and health officials here have allayed fears anew of a possible spread here of the novel coronavirus, saying there have been no reported or confirmed cases yet of the dreaded disease in any part of Lanao del Sur.
Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Bombit Alonto Adiong Jr. said over the weekend that his administration has considered COVID-19 as “a matter of serious and urgent concern.”
The province “stands ready to contribute to the overall Philippine Government efforts for the management of this public health situation,” Adiong said, citing a World Health Organization declaration, echoed by the national government, to be on a state of preparedness amid the threat of the virus.
A person under monitoring, reported to have traveled to Macau, has completed a 14-day quarantine and “has shown no signs of symptoms of Coronavirus Virus Disease 19 (CoVid19),” Adiong said.
Meanwhile, another person under investigation with a recent travel history to Taiwan has also tested negative on two oral swabs examined by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine in Manila, the governor said.
Dr. Allen Minalang, provincial health office head, said both patients were discharged over the weekend.
“We would like to reiterate that currently, there have been no reported or confirmed cases of the Coronavirus 2019 (Covid19) in Lanao del Sur,” he said.
In a separate statement, Dr. Zafrullah Dipatuan, health minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, also said both patients tested negative.
Adiong said he had directed the creation of the Lanao del Sur Inter-Agency task force Against the Covid Acute Respiratory Disease.
Jeanie Tamano, head of the Provincial Information Office, said the formation of the provincial task force followed a meeting of the country’s local chief executives and President Rodrigo Duterte on COVID-19, which topped issues and concerns during that assembly at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on February 10.
The task force is composed of the Provincial Information Office, the Provincial Disaster Risk-Reduction Management Office, and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development, in cooperation with various groups, mostly government organizations.
The task force works closely with the Integrated Provincial Health Office, the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government and the Ministry of Health of BARMM, the Liga ng mga Barangay, Lanao del Sur Chapter and the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City, Tamano said.