30 People Allegedly Gathered in Tekka Centre to Celebrate a Person’s Birthday & Deepavali

Like a responsible parent asking their child to sleep early, the gahmen has told us to avoid large social gatherings for our own good.

And like a misbehaving child staying up till 4am to play Among Us, many residents have flouted Covid-19 restrictions for their own benefit.

But either way, you’ll always end up getting caught.

A few days ago, the entire nation scowled after hearing about a community case who had had dinner with 12 relatives at an eatery at Tampines Mall.

He had also visited several other places.

Now, an even bigger gathering has been discovered.

30 People Allegedly Gathered in Tekka Centre to Celebrate a Person’s Birthday & Deepavali

Nearly 30 people allegedly gathered at Tekka Centre on Saturday (28 Nov), where they ate and mingled while seated at six tables.

Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao, the organiser said the gathering was organised to celebrate Deepavali and the birthday of one of the attendees.

He had reminded the attendees to observe safe distancing measures at all times, he said.

This included limiting each table to five people.

He claimed the gathering didn’t last long and that they went their separate ways after the celebration.

However, a report by Lianhe Wanbao points to the contrary.

The attendees were reportedly spotted mingling across tables and not observing safe distancing.

As you know, even if you sit separately in groups of five, gatherings of more than five are not allowed in public venues.

Attendees from different tables were also allegedly seen interacting while taking food that was catered for the gathering.

They did not keep a safe distance from each other.

It is believed that some stallholders at Tekka Centre were also part of the gathering, while other hawkers were reportedly invited to enjoy the food.

Even though the organiser claimed the celebration was short, some participants reportedly turned up around noon and left at 8pm.

One hawker said the centre is crawling with enforcement officers, who are there to ensure that people abide by safe distancing rules.

There’s a reason, of course, that the authorities are still keeping these Covid-19 restrictions in place even though infections have dwindled.

It’s because one undetected infection can easily lead to a full-blown cluster if gatherings are allowed again.

Two Community Cases Reported at Tekka Centre

And if this gathering had indeed taken place, it may become a cluster after all.

In the last few days, two Covid-19 community cases at Tekka Centre were reported, one of whom was a stallholder.

On Saturday (28 Nov), the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported one new community case – a 60-year-old Singaporean stallholder who sells mutton at Tekka Market.

She was detected from MOH’s community surveillance testing of stallholders in and around Tekka Centre on 26 Nov.

She works with a co-worker at her stall at Tekka Market, and stays at Yishun Street 22 with her husband, who has been working at Mustafa Centre for the past few years.

Then, on Sunday, a second case was discovered at Tekka Centre, as part of the surveillance testing.

All close contacts of the two community cases have been placed under quarantine.

This is why we need to adhere to safe distancing measures.

As we’ve seen in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and numerous other countries, the coronavirus capitalises on complacency.

So, even if it’s your friends 21st birthday and he’s migrating to Mars in a couple of weeks, please avoid large gatherings.

It’s simply the responsible thing to do.

Featured Image: huntergol hp / Shutterstock.com