According to a media release aside for the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore is currently facing the biggest dengue outbreak of all time. The National Environment Agency (NEA) warns that the weekly reported case is excepted to surpass the highest record 891 in coming weeks.
291 new dengue case was reported on last Sunday (31 May). As of 3 pm on 02 Jun 2020, the total numbers of people infected with dengue is 9,261. According to NEA, the number of infection this year is excepted to be higher than those reported in 2019 with 15,998. The number can even surpass 22,170 which was reported back in 2013.
12 death has been reported due to dengue infection in Singapore this year. The patients are aged between 56 to 80 years old, most of them are residing or working in an active dengue area.
As mosquitoes breed more easily during the month of May to September with the weather getting warmer, NEA excepts more dengue clusters to be formed in the coming weeks to months
According to NEA, the implementation of the circuit break might be one of the causes of the high numbers. As more people are staying at home, means more blood meals for the female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
In the effort to reduce dengue infections, NEA has released sterile male mosquitoes at dengue hotspot island-wide. This is to make sure that the egg hatched by the female mosquitos will not hatch. NEA has also planned to give out 300,000 of mosquitos repellent at GP clinics and polyclinic across Singapore.