COVID-19 tests for staff, tenants of several places in Redhill and Tiong Bahru after cases detected
Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu coffee shop at 56 Eng Hoon Street. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: All employees and tenants at several shops in Redhill and Tiong Bahru will be tested for COVID-19 as authorities investigate cases of infection among people who were there, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Jun 17).
Special testing operations would be conducted to "disrupt any wider, undetected community transmission", the ministry said.
In a separate update, MOH said it conducted mandatory testing on Wednesday for all owners, staff and tenants working at 79 and 85 Redhill Lane, where the Redhill Market and Redhill Food Centre are located, "out of an abundance of caution" after two COVID-19 cases were detected there.
All 397 owners, tenants and staff of shops and commercial units tested negative for COVID-19, the ministry said.
A stall assistant at Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu was among the 17 new COVID-19 cases linked to the Bukit Merah View cluster on Thursday.
The 73-year-old Singaporean woman, identified as Case 64270, is a workplace contact of another stall assistant at her workplace who tested positive on Jun 15. She is also a family member of a 79-year-old Singaporean man linked to the cluster who tested positive on Jun 13.
Case 64270 was placed on quarantine on Jun 14. She developed a sore throat on Jun 15, the same day her test results came back positive. She has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, having received her second dose on Mar 27.
FREE TESTS FOR VISITORS
Free COVID-19 tests will also be offered to members of the public who visited those places in the first half of June.
This applies to people who visited the shops at Redhill Lane and Redhill Close between Jun 1 and Jun 15.
Those who visited shops at 18 Jalan Membina between Jun 9 and Jun 15, as well as people who went to Tiong Bahru Yong Tao Hu Coffeeshop between Jun 7 and Jun 14, may also step forward to be tested for free.
Visitors to the listed premises during the specified dates are advised to monitor their health closely and minimise social interactions as far as possible for 14 days from their date of visit, said MOH.
The ministry also encouraged them to see a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.
READ: 17 new COVID-19 cases linked to Bukit Merah View cluster; 20 community infections in total
The coffee shop at 56 Eng Hoon Street appeared nine times on MOH's list of public places visited by COVID-19 community cases during their infectious period.
The Giant Express supermarket at 86 Redhill Close was also added to the list on Thursday.
The locations added to the list are as follows:
Singapore reported 20 new COVID-19 community cases on Thursday, including one with no links to previous infections.
There were also seven new imported cases, taking the daily tally on Thursday to 27.
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