KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica government says it will designate a day in January next year for a major clean-up exercise to encourage Jamaicans to get rid of solid waste in their surroundings as part of measures to contain the spread of dengue that has been blamed for several deaths so far this year.
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, said that the concept would be similar to what obtains on Labour Day and that the Ministry of Health and wellness is “working with the Labour Day Secretariat, and we are going to be doing that early January”.
Tufton said he was encouraging Jamaicans to take greater personal responsibility for their surroundings in a bid to eliminate mosquito breeding sites in homes and wider communities.
“The data suggest that most of the breeding sites are actually in and around people’s homes and are placed there by citizens. So solid waste, for example the old refrigerators [and] the drums that [are used to] store water improperly without covers… those have accounted for most of the challenges that people face in and around their homes,” he said.
Tufton said that the Ministry had purchased 36 additional vehicles to assist with fogging and these will be deployed to support existing apparatus being used.
In November, Tufton told parliament that since 2019, there have been 10 559 notifications of dengue cases here and of that number, 6 114 have been classified as suspected, presumed or confirmed as at November 7.
He said that there have been 44 deaths and that people aged five to 14 years old represent the group with the highest number of deaths. (CMC)