Singapore: Six Bangladeshi nationals have been tested positive with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Singapore, the High Commission of Bangladesh said on Thursday.

‘We have been informed yesterday by MOH (the Ministry of Health) that of those tested positive, as of 12 noon on 30 August, 6 are Bangladeshi nationals,’ Mahbub Uz Zaman, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Singapore told Reuters by email.

‘We have also been informed that the patients are presented with mild symptoms and have either recovered or recovering. We are in touch with the Ministry of Health in this regard.’

Singapore announced the first locally contracted case of Zika late on Saturday, and the number of diagnosed infections has grown steadily this week.

In a joint statement with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the health ministry said it identified another potential cluster of Zika virus infection in east Singapore, involving three previously reported cases.

‘Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge from more areas. We must work and plan on the basis that there is Zika transmission in other parts of Singapore and extend our vector control efforts beyond the current affected areas,’ Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong said in the statement.

Several countries have warned pregnant women or those trying to conceive to avoid traveling to Singapore.

The outbreak and travel advisories come as the tourism industry in one of the world’s busiest travel hubs already faces weak global economic growth. It is also just weeks ahead of the Singapore Formula One motor-racing Grand Prix - a major sporting and entertainment attraction.

Preparations for the race weekend are ‘on track and proceeding as per normal,’ the promoter, Singapore GP, said in an emailed statement.

In addition to 24 new Zika cases confirmed on Wednesday, nine were detected in the health ministry’s ‘look-back’ testing of previous cases.

The NEA said it is to widen the scope of its mosquito control operations - clearing drains and spraying potential breeding habitats with insecticide - to include the new potential cluster area.

Most of the initial cases were among the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers, drawn mainly from the Asian sub-continent, who work on Singapore’s construction sites and in the marine sector. These included 13 Indian citizens, said a person at the Indian High Commission in Singapore.