Iloilo City has been placed under a state of calamity due to an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and cholera.
The City Council passed yesterday, Sept. 2, a resolution adopting and approving the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC).
With the declaration, the city government can now use its P12.5-million Quick Response Fund (QFR) to help those affected by the outbreak.
According to City Health Offfice (CHO) OIC chief Dr. Annabelle Tang, almost half of the fund or P5 million will be spent for the hiring medical personnel to man the city’s hydration unit in So-oc, Arevalo.
Tang said the operationalization of its hydration unit will be needing, among others, eight doctors, 25 nurses, 9 nursing aide, and 9 utilities.
Three million pesos will be used for the procurement of medical diagnostic equipment and another P3 million for the purchase of medicines.
Five hundree thousand pesos will be alloted for fuel and the remaining P1million will be set aside for other maintenance and operating expenses.
Part of the fund will also be used for water rationing to the affected residents and for the procurement of disinfectants and toilet bowls for the proposed construction of communal toilets.
As of Sept. 2, 77 out of 180 barangays in the city have recorded AGE cases, which already reached 284 including 8 deaths.
The total cases also included 8 confirmed cases of cholera, an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water.IMT
