Infectious Diseases Act 1976 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Control of Infectious Diseases Within Singapore
6. Notification of prescribed infectious diseases
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2023. 2 amendments in all.
Every medical practitioner who has reason to believe or suspect that any person attended or treated by the medical practitioner is suffering from a prescribed infectious disease or is a carrier of that disease must notify the Director-General of Health within the prescribed time and in such form or manner as the Director-General of Health may require.
medical practitioner
“medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered or exempted from registration under the Medical Registration Act 1997;
Every person in charge of a laboratory used for the diagnosis of disease who becomes aware of the existence of a prescribed infectious disease in the course of his or her work must notify the Director-General of Health within the prescribed time and in such form or manner as the Director-General of Health may require.
infectious disease
“infectious disease” means —(a)any of the diseases specified in the First Schedule; and(b)for the purposes of sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17A, 19, 55, 57A and 59A, includes any other disease —(i)that is caused or is suspected to be caused by a micro‑organism or any agent of disease;(ii)that is capable or is suspected to be capable of transmission by any means to human beings; and(iii)that, the Director has reason to believe, if left uninvestigated or unchecked, is likely to result in an epidemic of the disease;
A person in a prescribed class, who is aware or suspects that —
another person is suffering from, or is a carrier of, a prescribed infectious disease; or
another person has died while suffering from, or being a carrier of, a prescribed infectious disease,must notify the Director-General of Health, within the prescribed time and in such form or manner as the Director-General of Health may require, of the fact in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case may be.
Any person who is required to notify the Director-General of Health under this section must give any other particulars required by the Director-General of Health insofar as they can be reasonably ascertained by the person or are within the person’s knowledge.
Director-General
“Director-General” means the Director‑General of Public Health appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act 1987;
Any person who fails to comply with the requirements of this section or provides as true information which the person knows or has reason to believe to be false shall be guilty of an offence.
Any person who is charged with failing to comply with the requirements of subsection (1), (2) or (3) in relation to the notification of a prescribed infectious disease is presumed to have known of the existence of the disease unless the person proves to the satisfaction of the court that the person had no such knowledge and could not with reasonable diligence have obtained such knowledge.