Dengue alert raised as blood runs short

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order on July 15, 2019 declaring a heightened alert amid the rising number of dengue cases in the province.

Lacson said the province has already reached the “alert threshold” and the provincial government wants to avoid the “epidemic threshold.”

“It is still far off at the moment, but still we just want to raise the alert level for every local government unit,” Lacson said.

The governor said the residents of the province should go back to basics and practice cleanliness in their local communities.

“Even if we religiously do the protocol, we can still expect that there will be a spike,” he explained.

However, Lacson said they cannot use it as an excuse.

The governor further stated the district hospitals are fully prepared and so far, he has not received any complaints of any hospital denying any dengue-related patients for treatment.

Meanwhile, Lacson also affirmed reports that there is currently an ongoing shortage of blood supply in the province.

“We need donors and we are calling out qualified donors,” Lacson said.

He further added he is mulling to organize a “bloodletting” activity for provincial government employees to boost the supply of blood and he is waiting for the recommendation from the Provincial Health Office (PHO).

Based on the PHO’s data earlier this month, they noted a 73 percent increase in dengue cases across the province.

Between January and June of this year, they have recorded a total of 2,800 dengue cases, up from the 1,600 recorded during the same period last year.

Records showed the highest number of cases was reported in Kabankalan City, San Carlos City, Bago City, Cadiz City, and Cauayan.

PHO also noted there were 10 fatalities this year, five of which were recorded in Cadiz City, the highest of any locality in the province.