CALANGUTE
: The Covid-19 induced lockdown that began in March and the continued near-total shutdown of
tourism
businesses in the months that followed had an unexpected side effect in the Calangute-Candolim tourism belt fear of a
dengue
outbreak due to stagnant water in
swimming
pools, water tanks and low-lying areas in shuttered properties, especially when the monsoon arrived in June.
That fear led to timely preventive measures being taken by the
Candolim
primary health centre (PHC) along with the Calangute panchayat.
“There have been no dengue cases. While there were a few malaria cases, none has been reported over the past few weeks,” Dr Roshan Nazareth, medical officer of Candolim PHC, said.
The PHC decided to act on the situation in May itself. “Hotels were shut, so we knew that water would stagnate in swimming pools and tanks. With the help of the local panchayat, we introduced fish in the pools that feed on mosquito larvae,” Nazareth said.
Some swimming pool and tanks were emptied. “At other places, we sprayed larvicide, which prevents mosquitoes from breeding, but that was mostly at construction sites. We even instructed hotel owners to put more chlorine in their
pools
, which is also effective against mosquito breeding,” Nazareth said.
There are around 200 swimming
pools in Calangute
and around half of that in Candolim.