Dengue cases in Sabah down by 68pct, partly due to Covid-19 pandemic

 By Olivia Miwil - June 16, 2021 @ 1:46pm

Sabah Health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said this year, the state recorded 68 per cent less dengue cases as compared to the same period last year. - KHIS/FARIZUL HAFIZ AWANG.

KOTA KINABALU: As people are spending more time at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, dengue cases in Sabah have shown a decreasing trend.

Sabah Health director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi said this year, the state recorded 68 per cent less dengue cases as compared to the same period last year.

As of June 10, there were 759 dengue cases with two deaths.

Dr Christina said the decline was due to several factors which include the current Covid-19 pandemic that led to the movement control, with people staying at home more and thus, less rubbish.

"It is something to celebrate but not to be complacent about. When people's lives return to what it used to be, we can expect the number of cases to rise again.

"Therefore, we have to implement sustainable and continuous preventive measures to ensure the downward trend of dengue cases," she said in conjunction with Asean Dengue Day 2021 yesterday themed "10 minutes to Eliminate Aedes".

The campaign aimed to encourage the public to spend 10 minutes a week cleaning their surroundings and destroy the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes in their areas.

Dr Christina said Aedes mosquitoes can breed outdoors and indoors as well as in public places such as playgrounds and recreational areas.

"It is our shared responsibility to ensure that the place we work, relax, and gather is clean and not a breeding ground for Aedes mosquitoes."

She added that the new norm 'gotong royong' during the pandemic should be on self-cleaning inside and outside of the house.

Each household head, she said should appoint a family member to remind them to do the clean-up activity for 10 minutes a week, in line with the '1 House 1 Champion' approach.