The outbreak and advisories come as the tourism industry in one of the world’s busiest travel hubs already faces weak global economic growth. South Korean travelers will receive text messages with the warning when they arrive in Singapore.
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Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore’s closest neighbors, have stepped up protective measures following the outbreak, introducing thermal scanners at airports and border checkpoints.
According to the latest situation report from the World Health Organization issued August 18, 67 countries have reported evidence of mosquito-borne Zika virus since 2015.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it had added Singapore to its interim travel guidance list.
This brings the total number of local transmissions to 82, three days after a Malaysian woman living and working in Aljunied was identified as the first known case of a person being infected locally.
Taiwan, Australia and South Korea advised pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to postpone trips to Singapore.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency confirmed 26 new local infections – the majority around the eastern Aljunied suburb where most of the other cases have been clustered. The company should also rectify the conditions in the area, which led to the breeding of the Zika-carrying mosquitoes.
“Pregnant women and women intending to become pregnant are advised to take particular caution and travellers to the country must take precautionary measures against mosquitoes”, the statement said.
The state is continuing to investigate individual cases of locally transmitted Zika in Pinellas and Palm Beach counties but has not declared any infection zones in those communities.
Authorities inspected thousands of homes in seven parts of Singapore, including five foreign worker dormitories, spraying insecticide and removing potential mosquito breeding habitats.
Most of the early infections were among foreign workers, hundreds of thousands of whom, mainly from the Asian sub-continent, work on Singapore’s construction sites and in the marine sector.
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The Chinese and Myanmar embassies in Singapore said they had not been notified by Singapore whether their citizens were among those infected.
