DOH asked to help Capiz as dengue outbreak declared

By: Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — The provincial government of Capiz asked the Department of Health(DOH) to help the province in curbing the rise in dengue cases.

This was the statement of Gov. Esteban Evan Contreras to the media after he was asked on how to prevent the upsurge of dengue cases at the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital and other private and government hospitals in the province.

In response, the DOH provided 50 nurses, 2 doctors and 8 medical technologists.

Aside from the manpower, the governor said that the province is waiting for the arrival of dengue test kits, dextrose, and folding beds from the DOH.

Earlier, Contreras signed Executive Order No. 2019-001 after dengue cases went beyond the five-year epidemic threshold.

The Capiz Epidemiological Surveillance and Response Unit (CESRU) of the Provincial Health Office found a 771-percent spike in dengue cases from January 1 to June 29, 2019.  So far, 2,177 dengue cases with 14 deaths were recorded in the province.

In comparison, there were only 250 dengue cases with no fatalities in the same period of last year.

Roxas City led by Mayor Ronnie Dadivas separately declared a dengue outbreak while the towns of Pontevedra and President Roxas are both under a state of calamity.

Under the executive order of Contreras, a task force has been created to strengthen anti-dengue campaign.

In particular, barangays (villages) in the 16 towns and capital city of Roxas have to conduct “Kontra Dengue Day” every Saturday for the next eight weeks.

Contreras also ordered the province’s district hospitals to fully extend medical services to all dengue-stricken patients. (Photo Courtesy of Kabalaka Information Center)