Colombo, June 22 -- Sri Lanka recorded 1,069 dengue cases in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections reported this year to 47, 179, while the death toll stands at 28, according to Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror newspaper.

The newspaper cited the Acting Director of the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU), Dr Kapila Kannangara, as saying that during the non-epidemic periods, Sri Lanka typically records "between 150 and 200 dengue cases a day." However, amid the current high-risk situation, "daily infections had recently climbed to between 600 and 650 cases."

The sharp rise in infections comes as health experts raised concerns over garbage accumulation near the Health Ministry in Colombo, warning that the waste could become a b...