Bukit Merah Market Cluster Records 13 New Cases On 16 Jun
Bukit Merah View Market has been at the centre of Covid-19 news lately, as it continues to report new cases.
Bukit Merah Market Cluster Sees 9 New Cases On 15 Jun, Closure Extended Till 26 Jun
As the authorities anticipate more cases emerging there, they’re also reevaluating plans to ease restrictions further.
On Wednesday (16 Jun), the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported another 13 cases linked to the cluster, bringing the tally to 39.
The Bukit Merah View Market cluster is currently our nation’s 3rd largest open one.
Bukit Merah Market cluster is 3rd largest in Singapore now
According to MOH’s press release on Wednesday (16 Jun), 6 of the 13 infections comprise household or close contacts of previous cases already linked to the cluster.
4 others are frequent visitors to the market and one of its neighbouring blocks.
Another 2 of the cases reportedly worked at the market itself.
As for the remaining case – Case 64248, a hawker who works at Tiong Bahru – MOH didn’t disclose how he is linked to the cluster.
The 13 additional cases represent a roughly 50% growth from the 25 cases reported the day before.
MOH has also linked Case 64217, which was previously unlinked, to the cluster.
The cluster is currently Singapore’s 3rd largest active cluster, losing out only to the JEM/Westgate and Changi Airport clusters.
Compulsory tests for Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre stallholders
Nearby, all stallholders at Telok Blangah Drive Food Centre are now required to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing on Thursday (17 Jun).
This comes after Case 64242, a part-timer at the food centre, tested positive for the coronavirus.
The 33-year-old is part of the Bukit Merah Market cluster and is a household contact of a Telok Blangah Food Centre hawker who tested positive on Monday (14 Jun).
The market will be closed for 3 days till Friday (18 Jun) for deep cleaning and disinfection.
Visiting the market on Wednesday (16 Jun), MP Rachel Ong shared that despite the sudden closure, stallholders felt it was the “right thing to do”.
3 unlinked community cases on 16 Jun
Besides the 13 new cases linked to the Bukit Merah market, MOH also reported 6 other community cases on Wednesday (16 Jun).
3 of them – 2 domestic workers and a retiree – are unlinked at the time of MOH’s press release.
Another 2 cases are linked to Case 64184, an engineer who works at Ecoxplore, who tested positive on 12 Jun.
The last remaining case involves an 84-year-old retiree who is a household contact of Case 64264, one of the 2 domestic workers whose infections remains unlinked.
Both of them were detected during MOH’s community surveillance of visitors to Block 115 and 116 at Bukit Merah View.
They, however, are not linked to the Bukit Merah Market cluster.
Hope the cluster will stop growing soon
The fast-growing Bukit Merah Market cluster is certainly a cause for concern and justifies a relook of our ‘reopening’ schedule.
We hope the authorities can ringfence the cluster soon and give our leaders the confidence to ease measures once again.
If you’ve been to either Block 115 or 116 at Bukit Merah View between 25 May to 12 Jun, do head down to one of these testing sites to get yourself swabbed.
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Featured image adapted from WhyQ.
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