Entire police force of Maguindanao town tests positive for COVID-19

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — All 25 members of the police force in Pagalungan town have been relieved and placed in quarantine after they tested positive for COVID-19, health and senior police officials said Thursday.

The office of Police Brig. Gen. Samuel Rodriguez, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, has ordered the deployment of officers to the Pagalungan police station.

Pagalungan, one of the 36 towns in Maguindanao, is located in the second district of the province.

According to reports, the coronavirus infection among town police started with an officer who was infected after attending the municipal fiesta in nearby Midsayap town in North Cotabato two weeks ago.

"We immediately acted on that concern," Rodriguez said.

The PRO-BAR and the office of physician Amirel Usman, health minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are working together to provide medical care to the quarantined town police.