Lamut in state of calamity
AFTER the death of two individuals and the occurrence of dengue epidemic in 18 barangays, the municipality of Lamut in Ifugao province on Thursday declared under state of calamity.
Following the recommendation of the municipal health office and a request from Mayor Mariano Buyagawan Jr., the municipal council passed resolution 2019 – 10 – 023 placing the entire town under state of calamity.
"The data is alarming and showed significant evidence that there is dengue outbreak in the municipality," the resolution said.
According to news reports, Cordillera recorded 4,704 dengue cases, with nine deaths as of August 10.
Apayao has 819
cases; Benguet 778 cases with 4 deaths; Abra with 693 cases; Kalinga has 573 cases with one death; Ifugao has 478 cases; Baguio 384 and 1 death; and Mountain Province has 334 cases with one death.
Under the law, a local government unit who declares a state of calamity can access the calamity fund which is 5% of the annual budget of the local government, which can be used for preparedness and response.
From the five percent, 30 percent is quick response fund accessible to the local government to address the increasing cases of dengue.
Although the Department of Health in the Cordillera region acknowledge the increase in the number of deaths and those affected by dengue, the agency called on the public to practice the 4S strategy which consists of: Search and destroy mosquito breeding places; Self-protective measures like wearing long sleeves and use of insect repellent; Seek early consultation on the first signs and symptoms of the disease; and Say yes to fogging if there is an impending outbreak.
Early this month, DOH requested the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to convene a full council meeting, after its declaration of a national dengue epidemic.
Based on the DOH Dengue Surveillance Report, Region VI (Western Visayas) had the most number of cases at 23,330, followed by Region IV-A (CALABARZON) with 16,515, Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) with 12,317, Region X (Northern Mindanao) with 11,455, and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) with 11,083 cases.
Seven out of these seventeen (17) regions have exceeded the epidemic threshold of dengue in their regions for the past three consecutive weeks. These regions are: Region IV-A (CALABARZON) with 16,515 cases; MIMAROPA – 4,254; V (Bicol) with 3,470; VI (Western Visayas) with 23,330; VIII (Eastern Visayas) with 7,199; IX (Zamboanga Peninisula) with 12, 317; and X (Northern Mindanao) with 11,455 cases.
Other regions exceeded the alert threshold level, such as Region I (Ilocos) with 4,396 cases; VII (Central Visayas) with 10,728; and BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) with 2,301.