The Government is taking their fight against the expected rising tide of dengue cases in the one way they know best: Fines.
From Mar 14 onwards, all homes found to be breeding mosquitoes will face a $200 fine. Previously, only offending homes in active clusters — defined as areas that have seen two or more cases within 14 days and located within 150m of each other — were actively fined, TODAY reports.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli announced the new step in their enforcement procedures yesterday, noting how the $200 fine has so far been effective in making households comply with regulations.
This comes as the authorities expect a whopping number of 30,000 dengue cases in 2016 in what could be the worst year for the virus outbreak in Singapore.
“The fine will increase the motivation for everyone to check their homes, whether they’re in a cluster or not,” said Nee Soon GRC MP Dr Lee Bee Wah in response to the next level of enforcement.
Masagos also warned that the Zika virus could hit Singapore as well, considering that the virus is also spread by the dengue-transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito.
