COLOMBO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Tuesday said it will launch a major cleanup of cities around the country as the number of people affected by dengue continues to rise.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that a meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss measures to be taken to control the spread of dengue.
It was decided to conduct a city cleanup over a two-week period with the assistance of the public and regional officials in the country.
The Health Ministry said that so far over 70,000 people have been affected by dengue and of them 25 percent are below the age of 19.
"It has been decided to deploy 100 civil defense force members to several hospitals to assist in dealing with patents with dengue," the Health Ministry said.
Recent floods and a garbage crisis have led to the rise of dengue mosquitoes around the country.
