A panic-stricken mother with her twin daughters, among others, waiting for dengue check-up at Mitford Hospital in the capital on Wednesday — FE Photo by Shafiqul Alam The number of dengue patients hit a single-day high of 2,428 until 8:00am on Wednesday with two new deaths from the viral disease.
Of the total infected, 1,275 are in Dhaka and the remaining 1,153 in other parts of the country, the government health agency said.
With new patients, the number of dengue patients has reached around 32,340 since January 2019, said the health emergency operation centre and control room under the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS).
Some 23,610 patients returned home after treatment, however.
At least two people died of the viral fever on Wednesday in Dhaka till filing of this report, one at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and another at privately-owned United Hospital.
With the latest deaths, the number of unofficial casualties has climbed to 67, almost triple the DG Health's figure of 23.
The DG Health collects information from only 40 hospitals --11 are government-run and 29 private.
Currently, some 8,707 dengue patients are undergoing treatment across the country, of which 3,318 are outside Dhaka.
Meanwhile, terming the deaths from the dengue fever "very unfortunate", Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam has apologised to the families of those who died of the deadly fever.
The mayor sought the apology while addressing a press conference organised at the DNCC office in Gulshan to disseminate the progress of the city authority's activities related to mosquito control and pesticide spraying.
He said, "The families whose relatives have died of dengue fever only understand how painful it is! It is very unfortunate, I personally apologised to the families that lost their relatives."
"Besides, I sincerely want to say, apart from the various activities to curb the spread of dengue, let us raise our awareness about the disease and mosquito control," he added.
Referring to the activities of mosquito control, DNCC chief spokesperson ASM Mamun said the city authority distributed 0.15 million leaflets among the city dwellers in last one week to raise awareness about dengue.
The DNCC also realised Tk 2.4 million in fines from different building owners for finding potential breeding zone for Aedes mosquito and the presence of larvae in their buildings.
The city corporation launched a call centre to deliver dengue and chikungunya-related counselling to the city dwellers. The number of the call centre is 01932 665 544 that operates 24 hours.
In another programme, LGRD and cooperatives minister Md Tazul Islam said that the government has allocated Tk 515 million to help the city corporations and municipalities of the country to combat the mosquito menace.
The minister came up with the information at an exchange of views meeting with Bangladesh Climate Change Journalist Forum (BCJF) at the secretariat, according to a news agency.
Of the amount, the two Dhaka city corporations were given Tk 75 million each while Tk 10 million each for Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Chattogram cities
The other city corporations received Tk 5.0 million each while Tk 300 million was allocated for all the municipalities.
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