War-torn Marawi sees coronavirus surge: mayor

The southern city of Marawi recently saw a spike in coronavirus infections as authorities continued rebuilding the city from a terrorist siege that left it in ruins 3 years ago, its mayor said Wednesday.

Marawi has tallied 300 cases of COVID-19, of which 103 are still active. The patients include about 80 health workers, 60 of whom are from the Amai Pakpak Medical Center that caters to neighboring provinces, said Mayor Majul Gandamra.

"Napakaimportante pong madagdagan ang ating mga medical personnel," he told TeleRadyo.

(It's very important for our medical personnel to increase.)

Marawi is under the second strictest of 4 lockdown levels.

Despite the lockdown, authorities continue the rehabilitation of "ground zero" that Islamic State sympathizers held for 5 months in 2017. Some residents from this area are still in temporary shelters or have relocated outside Marawi, said the mayor.

"Hindi pa naman tayo nakabangon, nararamdaman pa rin iyong kaunting inconvenience," Gandamra said.

(We have not yet fully recovered, we still feel some inconvenience.)

• A brief history: The Islamic City of Marawi
• Duterte urged: Set deadline for Marawi rehabilitation

TeleRadyo, Sept. 29, 2020