THE dengue and chikungunya outbreaks in Penang are under control and have shown signs of improvement, according to state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo.
The state Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman said he had been informed by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) that the cases have dropped compared to a few weeks ago.
He, however, urged the public not to let their guard down but continue to take precautionary measures by ensuring their environment remains clean.
“We must combat these dengue and chikungunya diseases at all costs.
“It is important to ensure that the situation is not taken lightly but everyone must strive to do their part to clean their neighbourhood.
“The MBPP and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) have also been tasked to monitor the situation.
“Nevertheless, I must express my gratitude to our team of personnel for cleaning the neighbourhood during an operation that started July 16. The operation is scheduled to continue until July 29,” he told Buletin Mutiara when attending the cleaning operation at Datuk Keramat today.
Jagdeep added that around 180 to 200 personnel were on duty during the operation conducted in the state.
As of last week, there were two cases of dengue and eight cases of chikungunya recorded in the Datuk Keramat state constituency.
Also present during the operation were Jelutong MP RSN Rayer, MBPP councillor Nicholas Theng, MBPP health inspector Rafi Sharma Mohd Nor Manoharan, MBPP senior public health assistant Khoo Eng Chong and Datuk Keramat’s Village Community Management Councils (MPKK) chairman A. Krishnan.
Story and pix by Edmund Lee