DAVAO CITY: The City Health Office (CHO) will be strictly implementing Ordinance No. 0401-20, Series of 2020 next year, which mandates the creation of Dengue Task Force in barangays as part of its strengthening efforts to combat dengue. In a statement Friday, CHO Tropical Disease Prevention and Control Division coordinator Melodina Babante said the initiative came following the rise in dengue cases in 2023 compared to the previous year. CHO records show the city 6,252 had confirmed dengue cases from January to December this year. It is 65.4 percent higher than the previous year's record of 3,758 confirmed cases. The dengue mortality rate in the city also increased from 21 deaths in 2022 to 51 recorded deaths this year. 'We have intensified our surveillance and monitoring, which contributed to the increase in our recorded number of cases,' Babante added. Ordinance No. 0401-20, she noted, seeks to impose fines on persons found to have breeding sites of mosquitoes in their homes. Under the measure, violato rs will be fined PHP1,000 and a two-day community service for the first offense. A fine of PHP3,000 and a four-hour community service will be meted out for the second offense; and a PHP5,000 and a four-hour community service for the third offense. Starting next year, CHO and the City Mayor's Office (CMO) will launch simultaneous cleanup drives in barangays every second and fourth Friday of the month. Babante said this is part of their efforts in intensifying the fight against dengue, especially after monitoring showed that the majority of the cases recorded were acquired in the community. Several schools were also found to have breeding sites for Aedes mosquitoes, she added. 'We urged the public to follow the ordinance, and for barangays to create their own Dengue Task Force,' Babante said. Source: Philippines News Agency
