Over the past month, the Omicron variant has fast become a cause of concern in Singapore as more cases emerged locally.
Earlier this week, Ministry of Health (MOH) detected a suspected Omicron cluster at the Anytime Fitness gym in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.
Following news of the cluster’s emergence, the gym had previously said that they’ve undergone cleaning and remained open to members.
However, on Thursday (23 Dec), Sport Singapore (SportSG) said they have ordered the gym to close for 10 days.
On Thursday (23 Dec), SportSG announced that the Anytime Fitness outlet at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre outlet has been issued a notice of composition as well as an order to close for 10 days from 22 Dec.
According to The Straits Times (ST), this was due to the gym’s failure to ensure patrons adhered to safe management measures (SMMs).
SportSG also took the opportunity to urge all sports and fitness operators and patrons to be vigilant and adhere strictly to SMMs, which are in place to keep the community safe.
SportSG added that enforcement action will be taken against businesses or individuals that fail to comply with prevailing SMMs.
The statutory board also said it will continue working with industry partners to bring sport and physical activities back in a safe and responsible manner.
On Monday (20 Dec), MOH detected a suspected Omicron cluster linked to the Anytime Fitness gym at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre.
3 Covid-19 cases were found linked to the gym of whom 2 tested “preliminary positive” for the Omicron variant. The result for the remaining case was pending.
As of Thursday (23 Dec), Singapore has 71 confirmed Omicron cases, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA). Of these, 65 are imported cases and 6 are local infections.
To ringfence the Omicron cases and prevent the infection from spreading, MOH is actively carrying out contact tracing.
In a bid to prevent greater exposure to imported cases, the authorities have also frozen all new VTL ticket sales till 20 Jan 2022.
Given the emergence of the highly infectious Omicron variant, it’s more important than ever for businesses and individuals to abide by SMMs.
We hope this serves as a lesson for everyone to treat the prevailing safety measures seriously.
Hopefully then, we’ll be able to better safeguard ourselves, those around us, and the wider Singapore community.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted by Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
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