Kidapawan placed under state of calamity due to dengue

KIDAPAWAN CITY –– The city council placed Kidapawan under a state of calamity Thursday, August 30, due to the unabated rise in dengue infections.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod, upon the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC), approved the declaration during its regular session.

Kidapawan is the fifth local government in Mindanao to declare a state of calamity due to dengue. These include Zamboanga Sibugay, South Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro City for 10 villages, and Iligan City.

Jasna Sucol, Kidapawan’s anti-dengue coordinator, said dengue infections in the city totaled 687 from January to August 24, an increase of 237 percent compared to the same period last year.

Sucol said Kidapawan had breached the epidemic threshold.

The CDRRMC identified 10 villages where most dengue cases were recorded, and where a dengue outbreak was declared. These are  Barangays Birada, Poblacion, Amas, Balindog, Lanao, Sudapin, Manongol, Paco, Magsaysay and Singao.

So far, two dengue patients have died. The most recent one was an 8-month old baby who was transferred to a hospital in Davao City due to the severity of the case.

The calamity declaration freed up some P2.8 million from the city’s Quick Response Funds for the purchase of fogging machines, mosquito repellants, and other chemicals to combat the dengue carrier Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, said Psalmer Bernalte, public safety officer of the local government.

Bernalte said they would further intensify information drives throughout the city’s 40 barangays to ensure the continuing practice of the so-called 4 o’clock habit and other measures to destroy mosquito breeding grounds in the communities.

The Department of Education Kidapawan City Division has also implemented a cleanup drive every Friday in all public elementary and secondary schools.

Mayor Joseph A. Evangelista has appealed to the people to ensure the cleanliness of their surroundings as their contribution to the stepped-up drive against dengue.

“We cannot afford to lose another life because of dengue,” Evangelista told a convocation of local employees Friday./lzb