Locations Across Singapore To Be Shut Over The Weekend To Facilitate Cleaning & Testing Of Staff
UPDATE (1 May, 1.24pm): A previous list by MOH had the whole of AMK Hub, as a patient spent 30 mins outside the Malaysia Boleh food court. The list was later updated to just Malaysia Boleh only.
313 Somerset was also delisted as a patient spent 1 hour in the mall without staying in a specific location for a long time.
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It wouldn’t have escaped Singaporeans’ attention that the number of community cases have risen in recent days.
That’s due to the emergence of new Covid-19 clusters at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
As more infected people are uncovered, the locations that they visited will also come under scrutiny.
With more and more public places affected, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided to close 21 of the places found so far – including a food court in AMK Hub.
This is so that they can be cleaned, and the staff there tested during the 2 days of closure.
MOH tightens Covid-19 measures
After 4 months of enjoying Phase 3, Singaporeans were faced with a bombshell from MOH.
The ministry announced tightened measures against Covid-19 in a press release on Friday (30 Apr).
This is after it announced 9 community cases on the same day, with 4 linked to the TTSH cluster.
This brings the numbers of cases linked to the TTSH cluster to 13.
21 locations to be closed
Given the rising number of community cases, it’s clear something had to be done to reduce the chances of spread to the community.
Thus, 21 separate places will be closed for 2 days. They were visited by known cases during their likely infectious period, between 15-27 Apr.
According to a list posted on MOH.gov.sg, this includes locations in malls, NTUC FairPrice outlets and even a Don Don Donki.
The locations are:
- Malaysia Boleh food court at AMK Hub
- NTUC FairPrice at Toa Payoh Hub
- NTUC FairPrice at Kitchener Complex
- NTUC FairPrice at VivoCity
- Yayoi restaurant at 100AM mall
- Don Don Donki at 100AM mall
- Uniqlo at Orchard Central
- Poke Theory at Triple One Somerset mall
- Paco Funworld at Bugis +
- Tuk Tuk Cha at Bugis Junction
- 4Fingers at Junction 8
- Genki Sushi at Junction 8
- The Food Inn at Esplanade Xchange in Esplanade MRT
- Subway at Nanyang Community Centre
- Stirling Steaks on East Coast Road
- Cash Converters in Toa Payoh
- Healthy Kopitiam Foodcourt at Tan Tock Seng Hospital
- City Harvest Church in Jurong West
- Abdul Hamid Kg Pasiran Mosque on Gentle Road
- Al-Falah Mosque on Bideford Road
- Hajjah Fatimah Mosque on Beach Road
Here’s the breakdown of these places according to patient, and the exact dates and times they were visited by each case.
UPDATE: A previous list by MOH had AMK Hub, as a patient spent 30 mins outside the Malaysia Boleh food court. The list was later updated to just Malaysia Boleh only. The previous list also listed 313 Somerset, as a patient spent 1 hour in the mall without staying in a specific location for a long time.
As more info is pending for 4 more cases, it’s likely that more locations will be added to the list.
Those who were at affected places will get SMS
MOH said the drastic measure is necessary to clean these places.
It’ll also help by freeing up the staff at these places to get tested to find out if Covid-19 had spread.
Education Minister Lawrence Wong said at a Covid-19 taskforce press conference on Friday (30 Apr) night that people who were at the affected places at the same time as these cases will get an SMS.
It will remind them to see a doctor if unwell, and tell them where to go to get tested for free.
This will help detect “cryptic cases quickly”, he added.
AMK Hub & 313 Somerset reassure public
In a Facebook post on Saturday (1 May) night, AMK Hub assured the public that it had carried out disinfection throughout the mall, and shoppers could still visit.
The Malaysia Boleh food court in the mall, however, informed patrons that it would be closed till 3 May, 12pm.
After being taken off the MOH list for closure, 313 Somerset also posted on Facebook saying it’s still open, and the mall has been deep cleaned.
Other stores confirm closures
As news of the closures filtered out on Saturday (1 May), NTUC FairPrice posted on Facebook that it would close 3 outlets till 3 May, 12pm.
Uniqlo Orchard Central, unfortunately, also confirmed that it would be closed from 1-3 May.
Beloved Japanese supermarket Don Don Donki also said it’ll be closing its 100AM store till 2 May.
Do check out the social media pages of your favourite stores on the list to see if they’re open before heading down this weekend.
Quick & necessary measures to stop spread
While it may be tempting to panic at the sudden surge of community cases, at least quick and decisive measures are being taken to try to stem the outbreak.
Do take note of the closures as you plan your outings over the weekend. They may be inconvenient, but they’re necessary to stop the virus from spread further.
We hope those infected have a quick recovery.
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Featured image from Facebook, Google Maps and Google Maps.
