Mosquito scare grips nation, Dengue shakes up Delhi

NEW DELHI: Though the Delhi government has clearly said that dengue is not an epidemic, the Capital is panicking. As of now there have been 500 cases of dengue and 11 people have died.

Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss also tried to calm people on Tuesday by saying, “There is no need for panic. Dengue is not an epidemic and the situation is under control. There is simply an increased level of awareness needed.”

Yet, nothing is satisfying Delhiites. Big hospitals like AIIMS are flooded with patients, who refuse to go to their local doctors or hospitals. “On Monday, we had 1000 patients and on Tuesday 750 patients were screened for dengue. We cannot accommodate so many patients. They need to go to local doctors,” said Shakti Gupta, PRO, AIIMS. At the premier medical institute, there are now 46 patients admitted, out of which 16 are residents of AIIMS itself.

In the city, the situation is becoming worse. Every mosquito bite is being looked at with jaundiced eyes and even a slight fever is enough to get people rushing to hospitals. The silver lining to the cloud though seems to be people’s conscientious effort to keep their surroundings clean in most areas.

Interestingly all government offices, hospitals and institutions have been told to stop using desert coolers and to empty them immediately. The Delhi government had an emergency Cabinet meet on Tuesday, which was chaired by Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit. Certain precautionary measures were decided at the meeting wherein responsibilities were affixed towards each cabinet minister.

Schools have been asked to maintain cleanliness within their premises and to enforce the winter uniform immediately. What this means is that all children are to wear full sleeves shirts and trousers.