When 2 seniors who work at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre tested positive for Covid-19, the entire building was closed for cleaning and disinfection.
This was a safety precaution to prevent further spread of the virus.
Unfortunately, 4 more infections have since been found among people there.
As such, the building has been officially declared as a Covid-19 cluster.
Visitors who have been there, as well as neighbouring block 116, are being offered free swab tests.
Earlier, it was announced that 2 senior citizens who work at the sundry store at 115 Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre tested positive last week.
As 2 cases were found in the same building, all staff and tenants who worked there from 25 May were placed under quarantine.
During quarantine, they were tested, and 4 more cases were found:
The addition of 4 more cases brought the total to 6. This caused Block 115 to be declared as a cluster, as it has 3 or more cases linked to it.
The situation is serious, as the Ministry of Health (MOH) said,
Our epidemiological investigations have found that there is likely ongoing transmission among individuals who work at the location.
Unfortunately, as Block 115 has been declared a cluster, the neighbouring Block 116 has also been affected.
According to Google Maps, blocks 115 and 116 are close to each other. In fact, they’re almost intertwined.
Block 116 also has many shops and eateries, so patrons are likely to go from 1 block to another.
Thus, MOH will conduct special testing operations for all staff and tenants who have worked at Block 116 since 25 May.
This is to “disrupt any wider, undetected community transmission”, the ministry said.
Additionally, members of the public who have visited both block 115 and 116 between 25 May-12 Jun are being offered free Covid-19 tests.
That’s the period that the infected cases were at the shops there during their infectious periods.
From 14-27 Jun, they can book an appointment at Fullerton Health Testing Centre in Raffles City or Raffles Medical Group’s 2 testing centres at:
Those with children below 12 years old who need to get tested should go to Fullerton Health.
Alternatively, they can also book their appointments at the following Regional Screening Centres:
Lastly, if you’re feeling unwell, there’s also the “Swab and Send Home” option at any Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPC) islandwide.
For more details of the testing and to book an appointment, do check out MOH’s advisory here.
The possibility that Covid-19 transmission may have been ongoing at places where HDB residents frequently shop and tapao food is alarming.
That’s also considering that many seniors visit those blocks.
Hopefully, the spread can be contained. While the market’s closure could cause inconvenience to some, it’s necessary to safeguard public health.
If you visited these 2 blocks recently, do monitor your health closely and minimise social interactions in the 14 days after your visit. Seek medical treatment if you feel unwell.
Do also get tested to protect your loved ones and the community.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Google Maps.
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