Guv rules out calamity declaration for HFMD

By John Noel E. Herrera

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said on Monday, Feb 20, 2023 that the provincial government will not declare a state of calamity amid high cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) in different Iloilo towns.

“Ang declaration sang state of calamity may use na sa aton, but so far, we don’t need the state of calamity to execute. Halimbawa, sa pondo, waay man kita sang price regulation nga kinahanglan, so we can do without it,” Defensor said in a press conference.

The governor noted that the cases already breached the province’s alert and epidemic threshold, but he reiterated that the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) is on top of everything, as protocols in different towns are already being executed.

“Subong ara na kita sa endemic level, bal-an mo, it only takes so little (to declare an outbreak). So far, we have 1,646 cases sa bilog nga probinsya kag basing sa data naton sa mga kabanwahanan, we are now executing our protocols sa mga municipality,” Defensor said.

“Number one ang mga closure anay kag ang pag disinfect sang iban nga facilities, like daycare centers. Mabalik na naman kita sa PDIT, prevention, detection, isolation, and treatment, which is now being executed sa aton municipal level kay ti ang mga cases naton gina-isolate na sila,” he added.

Defensor also emphasized that based on the latest trend, cases have already started to go down.

“But we are going down, based on the trending…not that we are very happy because of that, but amu na ang aton nga (situation) and ara na kita sa epidemic level. We will continue to fight that,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, IPHO head Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon confirmed the slowdown in cases as the majority of the infected individuals have already recovered.

“Ang HFMD self-limiting ni siya, meaning madula man lang ni sa system sang tao or sang bata especially kung nami ang iya immune system response, so in seven to 10 days ayo dun na siya or recovered na,” Quiñon explained.

“And so far wala kita sang na-report nga nag-exceed sa 10 days because kung mag-exceed dun na siya sa 10 days, we should look into the cardiac niya nga complications, but so far wala man sang may nag report nga nag-progress ang complications,” she added.

Data from Iloilo Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (IPESU), indicated that the province has already recorded a total of 1,646 HFMD cases so far this year, which is over 2,000 percent higher compared to only 53 cases reported in 2022.

The towns of Santa Barbara posted the highest number of cases with 236, followed by Alimodian with 109; Calinog (95); Barotac Viejo (94); Balasan (93); Mina (76); Sara (74); Bingawan (73); and Passi City (66), while the rest of the cases are spread in other towns.