North Cotabato gov't focuses on COVID-19 and dengue prevention
HEALTH • 10:30 AM Mon Jun 15, 2020
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By:
John M. Unson
COTABATO CITY --- Besides its war on coronavirus, the North Cotabato provincial government is guarding constituents versus another viral disease ---- dengue fever.
Citing reports from local government units and the provincial health office, Gov. Nancy Catamco said Monday there were 396 recorded dengue cases in the province since January 2020.
The figures are, however, lower if compared to the dengue cases in other provinces and cities in Region 12 and nearby towns in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, according to provincial and municipal officials.
Reports reaching the governor’s office indicated that the youngest to have contracted dengue fever in North Cotabato was an infant while the oldest was a 93-year-old constituent.
Catamco, chairperson of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, said Monday she has directed the Integrated Provincial Health Office and LGUs in the province to maximize again their anti-dengue campaign while focused on COVID-19 containment efforts.
The province covers more than 40 barangays in the provincial capital, Kidapawan City, and 17 towns scattered in three congressional districts.
A number of North Cotabato municipalities are located in lowlands dotted with swamps and marshes that connect to central Mindanao’s 222,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, where there is high prevalence of dengue cases through all seasons.
“We must not relax from our campaign versus dengue infections while we are struggling to win in our war on COVID-19,” Catamco said in a statement Monday.
Catamco said the Integrated Provincial Health Office and her administration are together educating North Cotabato residents on how to protect the local communities from dengue fever.
LGUs are to embark again on anti-dengue fogging operations as a preventive measure, according to Catamco.
“We thankful to the regional office of the Department of Health in Region 12 for helping us too in our anti-dengue initiatives,” Catamco said.