MANILA – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) needs more oxygen supply as the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions rises in the region.

“Diyan po kami nagkukulang doon sa oxygen, ang supplier namin doon ay medyo kapos na rin sila sa oxygen,” said BARMM health minister Dr. Bashary Latiph.

“Kailangan pa rin natin ang oxygen supply sa mga pasyente kasi dumadami na po ang admissions specially sa Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, sa Amai Pakpak Medical Center, umaabot po ng 100+ or 120 ang kanilang admission,” he said on ANC’s “Rundown.”

Latiph said they also need anti-inflammatory off-label drug tocilizumab for their COVID-19 patients.

• Tocilizumab supply to remain low until December: DOH

He stressed, however, that most of those admitted in their hospitals only show mild and moderate symptoms.

On Monday, the Department of Health recorded 279 new Delta variant carriers in the Philippines, including five in the Bangsamoro.

• DOH records 279 new Delta variant cases, including 5 in Bangsamoro

Latiph said they submitted the samples of these patients to the Philippine Genome Center on August 15, but only got results yesterday.

He said they are now doing contact tracing on these patients’ relatives.

Latiph said more molecular biology labs are also being built in the region to ramp up their testing capacity.

---ANC, 7 September 2021