Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry for Education and Manpower Low Yen Ling has contracted dengue fever.
Down with dengue fever
Low, who is also an MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC, shared this in a Facebook post addressed to residents and friends on May 11.
She said her doctor had advised her to take some time to rest and recover, and asked everyone to bear with her if her email responses were delayed.
She said:
"This incident is another reminder that we are all susceptible to dengue and it’s a war we can’t fight alone. We need each other, more than ever before - to keep our families and homes safe from dengue."
Choa Chu Kang a dengue hotspot
Choa Chu Kang is one of the neighbourhoods the National Environment Agency has identified as a dengue high-risk area.
Other high-risk areas are Bukit Batok, Keat Hong and Hong Kah North.
NEA recently revealed that they would be expanding Project Wolbachia to the aforementioned neighbourhoods.
The project involves releasing Aedes mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacteria, which will cause the female mosquitoes they mate with to lay infertile eggs.
It is projected that the number of dengue cases in 2020 will exceed the 16,000 in 2019. Thus far in the first four months of the year, weekly cases have been ranging between 300 to 400.
Dengue has also claimed seven lives in 2020 so far.
Top photo from Low Yen Ling / FB