New Delhi: The dengue-outbreak in New Delhi has led to an early commencement of the wearing of winter uniforms, as most schools in the capital have asked their students to come fully covered for classes.

Various schools in Delhi had, a few days ago, issued notices to parents to send their children to school dressed in their winter uniforms, which include full sleeved shirts and trousers. Also, several schools relaxed their dress code for girls by allowing them to come dressed in trousers or track pants.

As the dengue toll in Delhi crossed the 1500 mark this year, with around 1512 cases reported by the first week of September, schools have been taking several measures to prevent students from being bitten by mosquitoes.

At Tagore International School (TIS), all students have been asked to wear full sleeved shirts along with trousers, so that all parts of the body vulnerable to mosquito bites remain covered.

TIS Principal Madhulika Sen informed that additional measures to prevent dengue at the school included fumigating the school premises every week and spreading awareness among students about the precautions they can take to prevent the disease.

It is believed that the Aedes mosquito, that is the vector for dengue, bites mostly during the day. Hence, keeping the arms and legs completely covered helps in preventing mosquitoes from biting.

Ranjana Sharma, health-in-charge at Salwan Public School in Rajendra Nagar, said, "We have been asking parents to send their children, both boys and girls, dressed in full-sleeve shirts and trousers. We have also taken steps to inform them why it is not safe to send their children in skirts or shorts. The school authorities had even called up parents personally to inform them to send their students in their winter uniforms."

She further added that although girl students beneath Class VI at the school are supposed to wear skirts even in winters, they have now been allowed to come dressed in trousers. Also, the principal of Salwan Public School has ordered for the premises to be sprayed with mosquito repellent chemicals every day.

Additionally, students at the school that have even the slightest symptoms of flu or fever are sent back home as soon as possible. Students have also been told to inform their parents if they experience any flu like symptom such as nausea, cold, stomach ache, body-ache etc.

Apart from asking their students to come dressed in the winter uniform, Bloom Public School in Vasant Kunj has gone a step further and asked all its students to carry hand-sanitizers and use them frequently, especially before having meals.

A spokesperson of the school, Sapna Sukul, said, "Using hand sanitizers is encouraged in our school and now it has become a healthy habit among students. We see students using the sanitizers quite often during classes and they even lend it to those who are not carrying it with them."

Parents, too, are taking all possible precautions to prevent their children from getting the vector-borne disease. Most parents send their children to school after applying mosquito repellant lotions or creams on their arms and legs.