By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

According to recent data released by the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) yesterday morning, dengue cases in the city are down by 41 percent.

CHO Environment and Sanitation Division head, Dr. Grace Tan, explained during a press conference, as of September 8, there are total of 747 suspected cases with seven reported fatalities, which is lower than the 1,265 cases and nine fatalities recorded last year.

The latest dengue-related death was a seven-year-old girl from Barangay Felisa, who died last weekend while confined at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital. Tan explained, the fatalities were mostly six to 11 years old minors, but noted a 23-year-old also died from the disease.

She also named Barangays Handumanan, Taculing, Mansilingan, Sum-ag, Singcang-Airport, Villamonte, Estefania, Alijis, Granada, and Tangub as areas with the highest number of dengue cases.

The CHO official reminded the public of “the four o’clock habit,” which encourages local communities to clean their surroundings at 4:00 p.m.

Tan pointed out, dengue-carrying mosquitoes usually leave breeding sites around one to two hours before sunset. She said, before the insects depart, residents should have already cleaned their surroundings to eliminate hiding places./DGB, WDJ