TAIPEI: An outbreak of the chikungunya virus in China has prompted authorities to take preventive measures from mosquito nets and clouds of disinfectant, threatening fines for people who fail to disperse standing water and even deploying drones to hunt down insect breeding grounds. More than 7,000 cases of the disease have been reported as of Wednesday, focused largely on the manufacturing hub of Foshan near Hong Kong, which has reported only one case. Numbers of new cases appear to be dropping slowly, according to authorities.

Provincial governor urges ‘forceful measures’ to counter the disease after nearly 3,000 cases are reported in a week.

The uptick in cases have prompted measures that are being compared to those taken during the pandemic.