The Health Department will strengthen the raids it had launched across the State as part of Safe Kerala, an initiative to prevent and check infectious diseases and promote public health, Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar has said.
Safe Kerala is modelled on Safe Trivandrum, an initiative which had been successfully implemented in the capital and had succeeded in creating awareness on public health protection.
As part of the initiative, the department, in association with departments such as the Local Self-Government, Food Safety, and Labour, had already conducted three State-wide inspections.
Inspections had been conducted in schools, school hostels, and canteens to check the premises and to see the environs were kept clean.
The second round of inspections was focussed on hotels, restaurants, and small-time eateries to ensure that food safety and hygiene standards were being maintained.
The third round of inspections had focussed on migrant labour camps, where health officials found that the migrants were being housed in inhuman conditions and that a good number of them had various illnesses, including filariasis and leprosy.
Health awarenessAs part of strengthening public health awareness, health officials will conduct raids on private labs, dental clinics, slaughterhouses and beauty parlours, Mr. Sivakumar said.
He added that the checks on hotels, eateries, bakeries, and ice factories would continue.
