LUCENA CITY, Quezon — Quezon Governor Danilo Suarez on Thursday rallied the support of the mayors of 39 towns and two cities to address the rising dengue incidence, stressing the need to strengthen the health sector in the province.

“This concern is rather serious, so kung maaari lang sa ating mga minamahal na punong-bayan (to our dear mayors), I’ll ask my Office of the Governor to coordinate the issue, cases in your respective municipality and city and I want a drastic reduction. Sana bumaba tayo (I hope it will decline) from this month up to the end of December,” he said.

According to Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), Quezon province recorded 3,623 dengue cases with 12 deaths from Jan. 1 to Aug. 6 this year, up by 19.63 percent during the same period last year.

Suarez tasked concerned provincial government offices to intensify the Department of Health’s (DOH) enhanced 4S strategy involving Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; Self-protection measures; Seek early consultation; and Support fogging/spraying. (PNA)