President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake has informed all Provincial Chief Secretaries in writing to take all precautionary measures to prevent the spread of dengue on the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The President’s Secretary has also instructed the Armed Forces and the Police to extend their fullest cooperation to the Chief Secretaries in accordance with the requirements of the Dengue Control Programme.
During the previous week, 1896 dengue cases were recorded throughout the country, with the Western Province reporting the highest number of cases (49%).
In the Western Province, 21% of dengue cases have been reported from Gampaha district, 18% from Colombo district and 7% from Kalutara district. Among them, 3.4% of dengue cases have been reported from the Colombo Municipal Council area alone.
A considerable number of patients have been reported from Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Kandy, Galle, and Kegalle districts.
The districts of Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara have recorded an increase in patients compared to the previous week.
Provincial Chief Secretaries confirmed that the Department of Health Services, its regional health services directorate offices, and local government agencies have already implemented a comprehensive disease prevention program under the supervision of public health inspectors.
As a result, the heads of government institutions, schools, and other institutions should be informed to check and clean places where mosquitoes can breed, inspect all houses and shop premises in urban and rural areas, make loudspeaker announcements, and visit areas where dengue cases have been detected. Provincial Chief Secretaries also stated that they are takingsteps to control the spread of dengue fever, including destroying dengue-carrying mosquitoes in the surrounding areas, fumigating, conducting spot checks, and identifying mosquito larvae, as well as taking legal action against those who fail to keep the premises of houses and institutions clean.
Meanwhile, health officials are underlining that their participation is not sufficient to ensure the success of the dengue control campaign, and that public support is also required.