Residents happy that trash in Geylang alley is cleaned up

Two damaged wardrobes.

Three torn sofas.

Five three-legged chairs.

Six soiled mattresses.

All of these made this back alley in Geylang Lorong 18 a potential mosquito breeding site, especially with the rainy spell lately.

Just down the road is the Aljunied cluster, the largest Zika cluster in Singapore.

Locally-transmitted Zika in Singapore

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The Straits Times, The New Paper

A resident at the Lorong 18 area, who declined to be named, said: “Because one person threw his unwanted furniture, others followed and it just got more and more.

“This mess wasn’t built in a day.”

He added that because people regularly move out of the area, which has several brothels, they leave their rubbish behind, causing the trash to pile up over a span of two to three months.

Another resident, 66, who is unemployed, said: “Residents are afraid to walk through this back alley because there are many mosquitoes here and they don’t want to get infected by the Zika virus.”

So on Sept 20, when three clean-up trucks and nine cleaners arrived at the scene, watching tenants heaved a sigh of relief.

TNP understands the workers were contracted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to clear the area.

Mr Tan How Kiang, 52, an employee at a brothel at Geylang Lorong 18, said: “I’ve been complaining to the authorities for a long time, so I’m very happy that this area has finally been cleaned.

“There are other areas that still have a lot of rubbish. I hope they get cleaned up soon.”

The first Zika case was reported on Aug 27 and the victim was from Aljunied Crescent.

Fighting Zika: Which mosquito repellent to use

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The Straits Times, New Straits Times, Avon, Reuters, The Business Times, Ronnie Lim, Far East Flora

NEW CASE

There was one new Zika case reported as of 3pm yesterday, which brings the total number of Zika cases to 385.

There are no new Zika clusters reported by NEA.

It has been conducting vector control operations in the confirmed Zika clusters and outreach activities supporting the Mozzie Wipeout Movement Against Zika all over Singapore.

Zika tests have been made free and available at public and private healthcare institutions if a doctor decides that testing is necessary.

Pregnant women who have been tested positive for Zika will be referred to obstetric or maternal-foetal medicine specialist for follow-up.

The development of the foetus will also be monitored closely through regular ultrasound scans.

This article was first published on September 22, 2016.
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