SINGAPORE: Thirty-seven cases of Zika in Singapore stem from one construction site – the Sims Urban Oasis condominium at 60 Sims Drive.

According to its website, the 23,900 sq m site is being developed by GuocoLand and has an estimated date of vacant possession till June 2020.

A total of 118 people working at the construction site have been tested for Zika. Among them, a 30-year-old Singaporean man who lives in Sembawang Drive developed a fever and rash last Monday.

He was warded at the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) on Saturday. Of the other 36 foreign workers who tested positive, seven are warded at the CDC and the rest have fully recovered.

On Saturday, the republic’s National Environment Agency (NEA) followed up on an inspection last Wednesday to re-inspect the site and conduct misting and thermal fogging.

“A Stop Work Order was issued to the construction site on Aug 27, as the housekeeping of the construction site was found to be unsatisfactory with potential breeding habitats favourable to mosquito breeding,” said a joint press statement by NEA and Singapore’s Health (MOH).

“The construction site is required to rectify these conditions and step up preventive measures.”

Workers were informed by supervisors on Saturday morning that they could not continue construction works. Ge Zheng Ying, 47, told The Straits Times: “We have been told we were not allowed to continue working, and had to clean up the area, both our working areas and living quarters.”

They were also instructed to wear long sleeves and trousers.

Andrew Ng, 42, who lives with his wife and two sons at Block 54, Sims Drive beside the site, said the situation was “dangerous and worrying”, adding, “My sons have been having fever since Thursday, but their temperatures have been fluctuating. If tomorrow the fever is still not gone, I think I will take them for a blood test.”-thestar