Post cyclone, city corpn raises guard against dengue too

Chennai: About 200 people moved to relief camps in the city due to very severe cyclone Nivar have been shifted to corporation quarantine centres after they showed influenza-like symptoms. They are being screened for Covid-19.

“Their samples have been collected and they have been isolated to ensure that, if infected, spread of Covid-19 is avoided. We have appointed three people in every relief centre to work in three shifts and ensure that people housed in the corporation-run centres wear masks and maintain social distancing at all times,” said Divya Darshini, deputy commissioner, health, Greater Chennai Corporation. She added that around 2,000 people have been accommodated in such centres.

Apart from this, the civic body is following the health safety protocols followed post the 2015 floods. “We are spraying bleaching powder and lime powder mix on street corners and in inundated streets. We fear the possibility of sewage mixing with stagnant rainwater. A separate team has been put together at the zone level to manage this. We have also started organising fever camps to identify symptomatic people. We had 400 such camps on Thursday,” she added.

The civic body is also ensuring that all robotic machines and amphibians used to clear garbage and plastics blocking stormwater drains, canals and lakes is ready, a precaution to avoid breeding of mosquitoes. Focus is back on slum pockets to ensure people don’t catch

dengue

or

malaria

. Source reduction measures have begun using not just domestic breeding checkers (DBC) but also volunteers used for Covid-19 field work.

The civic body is also planning to use the iGot Covid-19 (https://igot.gov.in) patient monitoring portal to concentrate on all communicable diseases. “It is being used only to check on

Covid

positive patients now and helps our officials track them after their results turn positive. We will expand its usage,” said Divya Darshini.


Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.