Osmeña: Spraying in schools continues

CEBU - Despite the hospitalization of two students of the Zapatera Night High School allegedly because of exposure to anti-dengue spraying chemicals, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said spraying in public schools shall continue.

“I cannot put more weight to an allergic reaction. I am more scared of 300 dengue cases than two cases of allergy,” Osmeña said in his regular press conference yesterday.

Osmeña said everybody should cooperate with the city’s anti-dengue campaign and the best that the students can do when spraying is being conducted in schools is not to hang around the area being sprayed.

“We have taken unprecedented steps to create public awareness. The community should cooperate,” Osmeña said.

The mayor said that the anti-dengue program of the city is generally doing well but he is still discontented, especially with the two deaths recorded for the year.

Also yesterday, city health officials said they should not be blamed if the two students were exposed to the chemicals because they reportedly informed the school in advance about the scheduled spraying last Saturday.

The city’s health personnel schedules mist-spraying operations in public schools on Saturdays, however, students of the Night High School in Zapatera attend classes on the same day.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo, chairman of the City Council committee on education, earlier asked the health officials to explain the incident but city health officer Dorinda Macasucol explained the spraying was conducted seven hours before the rooms were occupied by the students of the night high school.

Cabugao said she already told Cebu City Medical Center director Myrna Go not to charge the families of the two students with the medicine given to them while in the hospital.

The students were reportedly already out of danger and are discharged from CCMC yesterday.

Macasucol said that 98 percent of the public elementary and high schools in Cebu City had already been sprayed with chemicals to kill mosquitoes.

Mist spraying will be conducted at the Guadalupe and Kalunasan elementary schools on September 13 and at the Pit-os and Cambinocot elementary schools on September 19 and 26, respectively. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon and Rene U. Borromeo/JMO (THE FREEMAN)