SINGAPORE - Mr Khaw Boon Wan's dengue diagnosis has been confirmed, his office said on Thursday (July 23) afternoon.

Minister for Transport Mr Khaw had posted in the morning that he was admitted to an isolation ward for observation. He also received a swab test.

Speculating on his condition then, he said: "Unlikely to be Covid but dengue is possible as my area is a hot zone. Did the swab test just now and hopefully it's a false alarm, I had dengue before and it was not pleasant.

"Meanwhile I will just let the body rest and think about retirement!" said Mr Khaw, who announced before the recent general election that he would be retiring from politics.

Mr Khaw, 67, only recently finalised negotiations for the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS), and was looking forward to the signing ceremony on July 30.

He said that he had been preparing his office for the next transport minister.

"Everything was going well; I have finalised the RTS negotiations and was looking forward to the ceremony! Then my temperature shot up."

In uploading a selfie of himself with a nasal tube attached to his nose, Mr Khaw described the photograph as "hilarious".

"I started my career in the Health Ministry. After 42 years, I would not expect to exit the stage in bed as a patient!" he wrote.

Singapore's dengue outbreak has continued to surge, with the number of dengue infections topping 1,000 cases for the sixth consecutive week. There were 1,736 infections diagnosed last week, 65 more than the previous week.

Until this year, the highest weekly infection number was 891 in 2014. As of 3pm on Wednesday, there have been 954 infections diagnosed this week since Sunday.

There are now 424 active dengue clusters concentrated mostly in the eastern part of the country.

In May, Senior Parliamentary Secretary Low Yen Ling said she had dengue, with her doctor advising her to "take some time out these few days to rest and recover".

Newly elected MP for Bukit Panjang Liang Eng Hwa was also struck by the virus last September.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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