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Bukit Merah View Food Centre to Extend Closure After 9 More Cases Were Linked to the Cluster

2021-06-16 , 9:41 am

When the Singapore and Hong Kong authorities recently announced they would “review” their air travel bubble, the coronavirus must have got wind of it.

Every time a bubble is launched or even discussed, COVID-19 case numbers go up. And this seems to have happened again.

In the last three days, more than ten community cases have been reported daily.

Yesterday (15 Jun), all of the 14 new infections reported were from the community. Here are the details.

115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre Cluster

The Bukit Merah View market cluster, our most worrying cluster at the moment, continues to grow rapidly.

Yesterday, nine more community cases were linked to the cluster, namely:

A 37-year-old Indian female who is a food stall vendor at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
A 77-year-old Singaporean man who works as a food stall vendor at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
A 39-year-old Indian man who is a food stall vendor at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre
A 30-year-old Indian man who works as a supervisor at Keong Hong Construction Pte Ltd
A 33-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who is a cleaner employed by SATS Facility Management
An 87-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree
A 35-year-old Indian man who works as a sales executive at Halnaz Frozen Goods Pte Ltd
A 35-year-old Singaporean woman who is a teacher at KidsCampus (Chai Chee)
A 72-year-old Singaporean man who is a retiree

The 87-year-old retiree frequently visited 115 and 116 Bukit Merah View. He developed a fever on 13 June and sought medical treatment at a polyclinic the next day, where he underwent both an ART and PCR test. Both test results came back positive on the same day. His serology test result is pending.

Closure of Bukit Merah Food Centre to Be Extended

Since there are now 25 cases linked to the cluster, the Bukit Merah Market and Food Centre will now be shut for two weeks until 26 June.

It was closed earlier, and supposed to re-open today (16 June). But once again, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into that plan.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) explained that the closure will “break the chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises.”

In addition to quarantining all staff and tenants working there, it has also commenced special testing operations for all staff and tenants who have been working in 116 Bukit Merah View from 25 May.

The ministry is offering free COVID-19 testing to members of the public who had visited the shops at 115 and 116 Bukit Merah View between 25 May and 12 June as well.

Last Linked Case

The last linked case is a 35-year-old Singaporean who works as a senior executive at NETS.

He developed a fever and sore throat on 13 June and sought medical treatment at a GP clinic on 14 June, where he underwent an ART and PCR test. Both came back positive the next day. His serology test result is pending.

No new imported cases or infections in migrant workers’ dormitories have been reported.

Unlinked Cases

The overall number of community cases are on the decline, but unlinked cases have gone up

Four of the community cases reported yesterday had no established links to previous cases. They are:

A 41-year-old female Philippines national who is a foreign domestic worker
A 36-year-old Singaporean woman who is a homemaker
A 30-year-old Singaporean woman who works as a sales representative at Imperva Singapore Pte Ltd
A 35-year-old Singaporean man who is currently unemployed

137 Cases in Hospitals

At the moment, there are 137 confirmed COVID-19 cases in hospitals, most of whom are stable or improving. Two are in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Another 233 with mild symptoms or lower risk factors are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

17 more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities recently.

Feature Image: Google Maps