Ormoc City, Leyte. INQUIRER FILES
TACLOBAN CITY – Ormoc City in Leyte was placed under a state of calamity on Thursday due to a sharp rise in dengue cases since the start of the year.
The city council, in a special session, made the declaration in the wake of 444 dengue cases recorded in the city from Jan. 1 to Aug. 3, with 19 out of its 85 barangays reporting cases of the mosquito-borne disease.
The number was 225 percent higher compared to the same period last year, prompting city health officials to declare an outbreak.
The declaration, based on the recommendation of the City Health Board chaired by Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, allowed the city government to access its calamity fund to procure medicines and supplies to address the surge in dengue cases.
13 deaths
Dr. Sarah Hermoso, city health officer, said about 20 percent of Ormoc’s population is now affected by dengue. Based on the 2020 census, the city has a population of 230,998.
READ: Dengue cases up in Eastern Visayas due to nonstop rains
For the entire Eastern Visayas region, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded 5,730 dengue cases over the past seven months, a significant increase from last year’s 2,273 cases. Leyte led the list with 2,408 cases, followed by Samar (1,626), Southern Leyte (785), Eastern Samar (542), Northern Samar (283), and Biliran (86).
The DOH also reported 13 deaths in the region from Jan. 1 to Aug. 3, or higher than the seven deaths in 2023. —JOEY GABIETA