One of Orchard Road’s most popular malls, a highlight of the long and bustling shopping street, recently made headlines for housing a COVID-19 cluster.
ION Orchard thus became the first mall along the stretch to completely close during the pandemic for four days of sanitisation and cleaning.
And it reopened with a bang.
Or, shall we say, a crash?
An Accident As ION Orchard Reopens
After the closure of the mall on 12 June, Saturday, it reopened yesterday on 16 June, Wednesday, to a rather shocking incident.
Retail staff all around the mall were preparing to open their stores for the first time in a few days when a loud crash suddenly erupted from the first floor.
At around 11am, a male staff from the Bobbi Brown outlet was going about his routine opening process when one of the store’s glass panels shattered, recounted an ION Orchard spokesman.
Unfortunately, the impact sent glass shards flying, resulting in the retail staff sustaining several cuts on his arm.
This also left bloodstains on the floor, mixed in with the pile of glass shards – what remained of the panel.
What a sight, huh?
He was immediately tended to with first-aid from the mall’s staff.
SCDF personnel also arrived at the scene at around 11:20pm after receiving a call for assistance 10 minutes before, and eventually took the man to Singapore General Hospital.
ION Orchard’s spokesman assured that they “are in touch with the Bobbi Brown staff and the management, and will render additional support to them as necessary.”
It still remains unknown as to why the glass panel would suddenly break without warning though, considering it was only out of use for four days.
Although some may think this might be a bad omen, let’s hope not.
Dwindling Crowd, Some Stores Still Shut
Despite the unfortunate accident that occurred right before the shops were due to open, business went on as usual.
The mall, which houses over 400 stores, did not see all returning to the scene on reopening day.
Stores such as the humongous Muji outlet in the basement and high-end fashion brand Burberry’s doors remained closed.
It’s not because they’re afraid that their glass panels will shutter.
ION Orchard circulated to all tenants that they would only be allowed to reopen once all staff have taken a swab test with a negative result.
It would be tenants’ responsibility to ensure they have made the necessary preparations and manpower allocations for reopening as well, the mall added.
Only about a dozen or so people visited the mall despite everything, as reported by The Straits Times.
Usually, it’s a pretty rare sight for a mall along the popular Orchard Road stretch to be this empty, considering that the queues to enter ION Orchard can snake until the MRT gantry entrance on weekends.
Perhaps it had to do with the fact that it was a weekday with everyone working at home.
Visitors interviewed expressed their faith in Singapore’s cleanliness standards, saying they were not put off by the recent cases that stemmed from the mall.
Here’s hoping that the mall remains safe once again.
Featured Image: Facebook (ION Orchard)
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