Ever since the authorities announced that dining-in would resume on 21 June, the coronavirus seems to be doing everything in its power to get all hawker centres in the country closed.
It started with the cluster at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre, which forced a two-week closure. However, even that two-week period has been extended.
Now, yet another hawker centre will have to close.
Telok Blangah Hawker Centre to Close for Deep Cleaning
Bad news for residents living near Block 79 Telok Blangah Drive: the hawker centre there will be closed for three days after a hawker there tested positive for COVID-19.
Said hawker is a 42-year-old Singaporean who is a family member of a cooking assistant at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre. The cooking assistant tested positive on 13 June.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the hawker developed body aches on 12 June and a fever on 12 June.
He sought treatment at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and was later confirmed to be COVID-19–positive.
As a result, the popular Telok Blangah Drive food centre will be closed from today (16 June) till 18 June for deep cleaning.
Notices at the food centre and neighbouring blocks have already been put up to inform residents about the closure.
As for the affected stallholders, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has been working with the Telok Blangah Shopkeepers & Stallholders Association to assist them.
This wasn’t the only other hawker centre affected, though.
Redhill Market Stallholders to Undergo Compulsory Swab Tests
All stallholders at the Redhill Market and Food Centre will also need to undergo mandatory COVID-19 tests after a confirmed COVID-19 case was found to have visited it.
The food centre is about a ten-minute walk from the Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre. I think you see the connection now, huh?
The tests, which begun yesterday (15 Jun), will also be carried out today (16 Jun) at a temporary testing centre at Block 84A Redhill Lane.
According to MOH, the infected individual visited the market on mornings between 8 June and 10 June.
Bukit Merah View Food Centre to Extend Closure
The authorities are taking no chances with infections in hawker centre ever since the coronavirus infected several stallholders and visitors at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre.
With nine more additions yesterday (15 Jun), there are now 25 cases linked to the cluster.
Consequently, the authorities decided to extend the centre’s closure for an additional two weeks until 26 Jun.
It was closed earlier, and supposed to re-open today (16 Jun).
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.
Feature Image: Facebook (Rachel Ong 王心妍) / Google Maps
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