KUCHING: Dengue cases have showed an upward trend since June this year based on dengue fever cases over the last five years, said Miri mayor Adam Yii.
He said the risk had also increased as most premises had not been in use since the movement control order (MCO), which started on March 18, and more business sectors are now going through the recovery movement control order (RMCO), which started on June 10.
“The public and business owners are advised to clean their premises, both indoor and outdoor areas, on a weekly basis, in addition to spraying with insecticide those places that have been unused since the start of the MCO,” he said in a recent statement.
On rabies, he said that when Sarawak was declared a rabies infected state, Miri City Council (MCC) had actively gone down to the streets to reduce the number of stray dogs.
“For the record, from July 2017 to August 25 this year, 7,066 dogs had been caught and put to sleep. This operation has been ongoing even during the MCO period,” he said.
He said that to complement the efforts of the state government, MCC also organised mobile mass rabies vaccinations for dogs on the weekends at various locations within the city area.
He said that under the Local Authorities (Dog Licensing and Control) By-Laws 2018, the council may require that a dog be implanted with any form of electronic identification and data storage device, with the microchip containing records of both animal and owner — i.e. licensing record.
“The Ministry of Local Government and Housing, through MCC, has taken the initiative to distribute the microchips and these will be implanted by the Veterinary Department during the ongoing mass vaccination programme,” said Yii.
However, he said dog owners must first register/license their dog with the city council in order to obtain the microchip.
“For this purpose, the city council will set up a licensing counter during the mass vaccination programme. Since first implemented on August 15 to 22 this year, 172 dogs have been implanted with microchip,” he said.
He urged the public to cooperate with MCC to ensure that their dogs are licensed and kept within their premises.
Meanwhile, with regard to Covid-19, he said that MCC had stepped up the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting high-traffic areas and frequent touchpoints such as markets and bus terminals to stem the spread of the virus.
Yii urged the public to remain cautious and alert in the new norm and adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
