Students Allowed To Wear Protective Clothing To School To Avoid Dengue, says Ministry of Education

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Ministry of Education says students will be allowed to wear suitable clothing that covers arms and legs, in addition to the school uniform, to protect themselves from mosquitoes.Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwawa said the decision was made in view of the current dengue risk and that all school principals have been informed of the proceedings. He added that allowing students to wear clothing that covers them is expected to help reduce the spread of dengue among schoolchildren.Principals have also been instructed to continue organizing special mosquito breeding site eradication and school cleaning programmes at all government and government-approved private schools, with the participation of parents and past pupils.Meanwhile, the National Dengue Control Unit announced that a special mosquito control programme covering 60 high-risk dengue zones will begin tomorrow.Of these, 23 high-risk zones are located in the Western Province.Mosquito control activities have already been underway in these 23 zones since last Sunday under the Clean Sri Lanka programme, coordinated on behalf of the Presidential Secretariat.