Naga City placed under state of calamity due to rising dengue cases

By Lizel S. Macatangay

NAGA CITY, May 24 (PIA) -– The alarming rise of dengue cases prompted the city government here to place the city under state of calamity.

Mayor John Bongat of this city said the Sangguniang Panlungsod has filed and already approved a resolution Tuesday (May 22) declaring state of calamity following the recommendation of the local government health office citing that 25 out of the 27 have already recorded rising number of cases of dengue.

For the last quarter, dengue victims reached 303, with Barangay Dayangdang topping the list with 36 cases followed by Barangays San Felipe and Concepcion Pequena with 30 and 20 cases respectively. Other barangays have recorded ranging from 1 to 16 cases.

The Sangguniang Panglungsod responded by allotting P1 million for the purchase of chemicals to be used in eliminating dengue carrying mosquitoes and larvae in breeding places. Part of fund will also be utilized in the education and information drives of the city government to raise awareness among the locales in combating the menace.

Barangay officials were also encouraged to take an active part in spearheading clean up and information drives to activate all barangay health committees in giving lectures regarding the importance of keeping their surroundings clean at all times.

This is also in line with the Department of Health’s latest campaign against dengue dubbed “ Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue” or ABaKaDa, an effort to rouse the community to take an active part in curtailing the threat of dengue in their respective barangays.

City Health Officer Dr.Vito Borja said the community plays a significant role in combating the recurrence of the virus.

“We need the consistent support of each member of the community for a zero-casualty campaign of our local government unit. It is actually as simple as going down to basic of keeping our surroundings clean to keep the virus at bay,” Borja said in an interview.

Borja advised each household to cover all water containers, declog roof gutters and cover stagnant water areas with soil. Old tires and cans in the backyards are also possible breeding places that need to be eliminated.

“For self protection, we are also encouraging the resident to wear long sleeved shirts, pants, and use mosquito repellants whenever needed,” Borja added. (MAL/LSM-PIA Camarines Sur)