Dengue scare not over, but situation under control: Delhi govt

New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the dengue scare has not come to an end so far but assured that government has made sufficient arrangements in its all hospitals to fight the vector-borne disease.

Jain, however, said the situation is under control and there is no need to be panic due to spurt in dengue cases in the national capital.

"We should not focus on numbers of dengue cases as the situation is under control. We have increased the numbers of beds in government hospitals in such a manner that some beds are lying vacant," the health minister told reporters here.

He said the dengue scare will continue for the next one month in case the winter season doesn't approach soon.

"If the winter season doesn't approach soon, it is likely that the dengue scare will continue for one month," the minister said.

He also said, "Season of dengue has not come to an end so far. We do not have dearth of beds in government hospitals. There are several persons of neighbouring states coming to Delhi to get treatment. Three more persons, including a 13-year-old boy, have died due to dengue in the capital.

The three deaths have taken the dengue death toll this season in Delhi to 33, even though the official casualty figure, according to MCD is 17.

Delhi government had recently ordered that no hospital should deny admission to a dengue patient.

Meanwhile, officials at AIIMS said that a woman died there yesterday of dengue. The deceased hailed from Nadia district of West Bengal, they said.

Nearly 2,200 fresh dengue cases have been reported in the city in the past one week, taking the total number of people affected by dengue to 5,982.

Last year, the city had reported three deaths and recorded nearly 1,000 cases.