A TALISAY City legislator is proposing a measure that will penalize residents who fail to practice anti-dengue measures within the household level.
With Talisay City now ranking eighth in the list of towns and cities in Central Visayas with the most number of dengue cases, City Councilor Richard Francis Aznar said that his proposed measure will remind residents of the need to be more vigilant against dengue.
Aznar, who chairs the committee on health and hospital services, told reporters that there is a need to take more precautions against dengue due to the increasing number of dengue cases monitored in Central Visayas this year.
Dr. Lino Alanzado, Talisay City health officer, told reporters that the number of dengue cases in the city has reached 322, with five deaths.
The city is also in the eighth spot in the Department of Health (DOH) 7’s recent dengue monitoring report.
Aznar said that with the number of dengue cases in Talisay City rising every month, there is a need to reactivate the city’s anti-dengue task force that was created during the previous administration but was abandoned.
If his proposed ordinance will be passed, Aznar said that residents could be fined if they fail to implement measures to prevent the spread of dengue in their community.
He advised residents to practice precautionary measures provided by the DOH, such as the 4S, which stands for “search and destroy” mosquito breeding places, use “self-protection measures,” “seek early consultation” for fevers that run for more than two days, and “say yes to fogging” when there is an impending outbreak.
Aznar also urged residents to practice the “four o’clock” habit by encouraging communities to clean up their surroundings every 4 p.m.
Cleaning before evening is a key to reducing the risk of dengue since the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which carries the disease, is most active at dusk.
To bolster their forces against dengue, Alanzado also plans to convince Mayor Eduardo Gullas to hire an additional 20 personnel that they can train to check on possible breeding sites in dengue-prevalent areas in the city.
