CHENNAI: As dengue cases are on the rise amidst the Covid-19 battle, the Chennai Corporation has stepped up its vector control measures.
Commissioner G Prakash in an internal meeting held recently has ordered the civic body’s assistant engineers to identify owners of empty plots, buildings and issue them notices as mosquitoes may likely
be breeding in such places.
He has also asked the domestic breeding checkers to submit detailed ward level reports on how many houses are vulnerable and prone to have stagnant water or water stored in pots where mosquitoes could possibly breed.
Apart from this, the civic body will also beggin fogging and spraying larvicide in vulnerable places.
"Staff must focus on fogging and using larvide in slum areas to prevent diseases like malaria. Sanitary staff also must ensure there’s no delay in collecting garbage and there’s also no sewage stagnation," he said.
The Commissioner also said that the door-to-door fever staff can also ensure that people do not save water in open pots for days.
The announcements come in the wake of rising dengue cases being reported in the civic body’s fever camps for Covid-19 screening. Only weeks ago, 3400 malaria workers were shifted from Covid duty to
vector prevention work across the city.
Officials with the Corporation’s Public Health Department said that sewage stagnation and saving of potable water is often present in the north Chennai areas.
"We have identified close to 30 hotposts where sewage or rainwater stagnation occurs. As and when we report stagnation, it would be removed with the help of the Metro Water department," the official said.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the vector borne diseases could be a double whammy for the city as the symptoms for both the infections are similar. However, officials hope that there won’t be a problem in
diagnosis.
"Instructions have been clearly given to the UPHC doctors to do testsfor dengue, malaria, cholera too, before doing a PCR test. Doctors in fever camps are also well-trained to pick up respiratory symptoms for
Covid as dengue may not have such symptoms," the official added.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the city recorded a fresh 1155 cases and 26 deaths. Mortality rate in the city is at 2.12 percent.
Active cases are now at just 14.5 percent, while 1315 people were discharged on Sunday, taking the total people discharged to 78,940, which is 83.36 percent.