By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA(AA) – Eleven more coronavirus cases were reported in Bangsamoro, the Philippines’ autonomous Muslim-majority region, on Friday.
A statement by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government said the total case count is now up to 379, including six fatalities.
The statement said 120 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far, leaving 253 active cases in the region.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency last month, BARMM Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim had expressed fears of a rise in infections due to people returning from overseas and other parts of the country.
“The reason behind the sudden increase in [COVID-19] cases is the return of overseas workers, students, and other people from Metro Manila,” he said on June 18, when there were just 71 cases in the region of over 5 million people.
Meanwhile, 1,841 more infections over the past 24 hours pushed the Philippines’ overall case count to 63,001 on Friday, including 1,660 deaths.