Chandigarh: Reiterating the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab government’s firm resolve to safeguard public health, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Tuesday chaired a comprehensive high-level review meeting at the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) to assess the prevention and control measures for vector-borne and water-borne diseases across the state.
Reviewing the epidemiological data, Dr Balbir Singh highlighted that due to proactive preventive measures, Punjab has recorded zero dengue-related deaths so far this year. A total of 1,00,414 dengue samples have been tested till September 21 (with 64049 sample tested at Aam Aadmi Clinics) recording a significantly low positivity rate of 0.45% (451 positive cases). The Health Minister lauded Amritsar and Jalandhar for their remarkable performance in conducting extensive dengue testing. He also reviewed the status of 16 Chikungunya cases reported in the state this year.
While appreciating Faridkot district for achieving 100% involvement of nursing students in anti-dengue field activities, the Health Minister urged other districts to scale up student participation. He issued special directions to ramp up VHSNC meetings, field inspections, and ASHA engagement in districts reporting higher caseloads, including Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Faridkot, and Tarn Taran. The Minister also instructed local authorities to carry out appropriate, need-based indoor and outdoor fogging.
The Health Minister also reviewed the distribution of Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY) cards. He directed all Deputy Commissioners and district health authorities to properly organise MMSY card distribution functions at the village and mohalla levels.
