【Chilli and Banana】

UPDATE: Sept. 5,Chilli and Banana 2016, 12:12 p.m. SGT Updated with response from Leonie Francesca.

SINGAPORE -- A Singaporean couple has opened their home to pregnant women living in Zika hotzones who are afraid they might get infected by the virus.

In a Facebook post, Leonie Francesca said she and her husband, Justin Besson, are offering a room in their apartment to pregnant women keen to seek refuge from Zika-carrying mosquitos.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

SEE ALSO: Returning Olympians warned to practice safe sex due to Zika fears

The Bessons live on the 13th floor in Pasir Ris, east of the areas that have logged the highest incidence of the virus that has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that results in babies with smaller than average heads due to abnormal brain development.

Francesca is a teacher, and Besson is listed on his Facebook profile as a freelance motion graphic designer. The couple have an 11-month-old boy.

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

For now, no one has come forward yet to ask about the room, she told Mashable. "Maybe it's too far from the city?" she said.

She added that she hopes the community will rise up during this period, "instead of selfishly clearing repellent stocks they obviously won't use till next month -- or reselling it for marked up prices."

"I was just imagining what pregnant women feel right now, and I had this idea. We’ve an extra room, and I’ve never been bitten by a mosquito in my house. Someone might need a room somewhere, and we have that extra space," she said, according to the Today show.

Shelves wiped clean of mosquito repellent

On Sunday evening, the government confirmed another 27 new cases of Zika, the majority in the cluster around Aljunied Crescent, Sims Drive, Kallang Way, Paya Lebar.

This brings the total number right now in the tiny island state to 242.

The government noted that there was a potentially new cluster in the Joo Seng Road area, and a newly infected patient is not linked to existing clusters.

Shelves at multiple pharmacies here have been wiped clean of mosquito repellent, as stores rush to restock.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Topics Health

• Science
• Entertainment
• Social Good
• Deals
• Shopping
• Digital Culture
• Life
• Tech

• The Mismeasure of Media
• WhatsApp will let you log into two accounts at once
• In Praise of Minor Literature
• iPhone 15 screen burn
• The fat bears are already extremely fat
• Unconventional, Part 7: Party Time with Dick Gregory
• In Praise of Minor Literature
• Amazon promises speedy drone deliveries in the UK
• Fritz vs. Ruud 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for August 12

• Why Gmail's app developer policy could mean a security risk for you
• Street signs have to remind motorists not to hunt Pokémon while driving
• How images like #DonDaleKids let us 'perform' our shock and outrage
• Namibian teen model is a doppelganger for Regina George from 'Mean Girls'
• Senator Orrin Hatch just called Dr. Christine Blasey Ford an 'attractive witness'
• Facebook: 50 million accounts 'directly affected' by hack
• 'Armageddon'
• Banned '90s Walmart shirt is relevant again thanks to Hillary Clinton
• All the best theories about 'The Good Place' Season 3
• Traffic cam catches cyclist narrowly escaping car crash

• A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
• Prints by Peter Howson
• In Victorian Novels, “Withholding Sex Is a Perverse Way of Having It”
• WhatsApp voice notes can now self
• Instagram tests Storylines, a collaborative twist on Stories
• Poem: Martha Hollander, “Three Geographers”
• The World of ‘Garfield’ Parodies Runs Deeper Than You’d Dreamed
• In Victorian Novels, “Withholding Sex Is a Perverse Way of Having It”
• Best robot vacuum deal: Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop $300 off at Amazon
• TikTok creators and influencers are protesting against Amazon

• Is it 'Thunderbolts*' or *The New Avengers'?
• 'Heardle' today: Correct answer and song hints for August 11
• Bastille Day Sale
• Staff Picks: Eve Babitz, Jesse Ball, Erica Baum
• NYT Strands hints, answers for April 23
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 20, 2023
• Best video doorbell deal: Save 33% on the wireless Google Nest Doorbell at Amazon
• Dr. Seuss’s Midnight Paintings
• Instagram tests Storylines, a collaborative twist on Stories
• The Last Duck