Cali is shielded by dengue and rain for massive events such as the UN summit

According to the Mayor’s Office, the measure is taken with an anticipatory nature and with the aim of intensifying preventive actions to guarantee effective and timely health care for citizens, especially when massive events such as the momentous COP16 are approaching.

Mayor Alejandro Eder and the district’s Secretary of Health, Germán Escobar, indicated that from the beginning of 2024 until epidemiological week number 21 there were more than 20,000 dengue patients in Cali.

Of that figure, 12,452 (63.7 percent) did not present warning signs. Another 6,918 (35.4 percent) had warning signs and 175 (0.9 percent) cases presented severe dengue.

“From our Mayor’s Office we are not going to let our guard down! Therefore, we continue to intensify actions and take preventive measures to cut off the wings to dengue in Cali in the face of the massive events that will take place in the second semester. Our task as an Administration is to protect the health and lives of the people of Cali,” explained the mayor of Cali.

According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), this is the most serious dengue outbreak in Latin America in recent years.

And although Cali is below the average mortality rate, we cannot let our guard down and the District Administration and the Ministry of Health have been strengthening measures to combat dengue.

In turn, said Secretary Escobar, more than 227,000 inspections have been made to sinks in the 22 communes of the urban area.

The official added that There are nearly 3,500 visits to places of human concentration in 19 of the 22 communes and in the El Hormiguero and Montebello townships.

The balance also showed more than 7,500 visits to homes in 18 communes and in the Montebello district.

According to Mayor Eder, the declaration of the health emergency seeks to mobilize all sectors of the city to control the reproduction of the dengue-transmitting mosquito and protect the health services network. Escobar, for his part, mentioned that nearly 3,000 homes were fumigated with motorcycle backpacks, as well as about 5,000 blocks with more than 231,000 properties with heavy machinery in 16 communes and in the La Buitrera and Montebello districts. There are also 577 biological control actions with guppies.

According to the Cali Public Health Secretariat, citizen collaboration will be essential for the success of preventive actions, especially taking into account the season of massive events that will take place in the second half of the year, such as the Music Festival. of the Pacific Petronio Álvarez, the 2024 U-20 Women’s World Cup, COP16 and the Cali Fair.

In this sense, the district Administration has reiterated the call to the population to avoid water tanks that serve as breeding grounds for dengue-transmitting mosquitoes.

Until April of this year, there were more than 36,000 cases of dengue throughout the Valley this year. In one week alone there were 2,400 cases.

The department’s Secretary of Health, María Cristina Lesmes, reported that more than half are in Cali, but there was also an impact in El Cerrito, followed by Palmira, Florida, Candelaria, Pradera, Tuluá and Buga.

There are institutions with collapsed emergency services, such as the Club Noel Children’s Clinic Foundation.

Meanwhile, the director of the Carabineros Police and Environmental Protection in the country and in charge of COP!6 security, Colonel William Castaño, He said that a security plan was presented that focuses on two aspects, without touching the activities of the Cali Police. “There is an attached plan with the sending of 4,000 men and women.

Since August it will be arriving for different pre-COP16 services, with events such as Petronio Álvarez, the U20 Women’s World Cup and other pre-conference activities.

The officer said that at the Pacific Events Center where the central agenda of COP16 will be held there will be external security with 150 uniformed members of the National Police. Internal security will be in charge of the United Nations (UN).
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CAROLINA BOHÓRQUEZ
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Cali