Fever clinics will start functioning in all three action areas of New Town from Saturday, said an official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), which will run the camps.
The clinics will treat patients walking in with Covid and dengue symptoms as well as collect data that could help track cluster outbreaks.
Dengue cases have been on the rise in Salt Lake and New Town. More than 65 cases have been reported from New Town, Rajarhat and Salt Lake over the past week.
The official said people with Covid-19 and dengue symptoms would have to wait in separate queues.
Officials of the NKDA’s health department said many people were treating all fever cases as Covid because of the wide prevalence of the disease.
“It is very important to diagnose and start treating dengue patients in the initial stages. Faster medical intervention prevents fatalities and complications in the long run,” the official said.
The fever clinics will be run by NKDA health centres and anyone can walk in. Tests, as well as doctor’s consultation, will be for free.
“Each of the fever clinics will have multiple doctors and personnel trained in conducting tests. The reports will be handed at the earliest,” a senior NKDA official said.
In addition to the fever clinics, at least 20 vector-control teams have been formed. The teams have been tasked with visiting housing complexes and checking for stagnant pools of water in common areas such as parking lots, basements and lift rooms, among other places.
The dengue-causing Aedesageypti mosquito can breed in a coin-sized blob of water and the teams have been asked to check for places where freshwater can accumulate and take requisite action.
On Wednesday, the residents’ welfare association of a housing complex in New Town was served a notice by NKDA officials who found dengue larvae in a pool of water in the basement parking lot.
