LAOAG CITY, Aug. 5 — Mayor Michael Fariñas has recommended the city to be placed under state of calamity (SOC) citing a report that the current number of dengue cases is threatening to breach the mark for an outbreak.
In a special staff meeting on Thursday afternoon, city health officer Renato Mateo reported that the present dengue cases already correspond to an alert level and that it is near the outbreak mark.
“We expect to breach the outbreak level but not necessarily a calamity level. In my opinion, we can declare it as an outbreak level,” he said.
Based on the city health office’s monitoring, 186 residents have fallen ill with five deaths due to dengue.
Fariñas said he will ask the city council to immediately declare Laoag under calamity state so that they can utilize the calamity fund to assist victims and buy additional fogging machines.
He said the city government could now make use of its local disaster risk and reduction management fund or 30 percent of the amount as quick response fund for relief and recovery efforts.
Fariñas said the city government may need to buy a stronger dosage of insecticides and more fogging machines to drive away dengue-causing mosquitoes.
