SINGAPORE - Covid-19 testing for staff and members of the public who had been to the Fairprice supermarket at 166 Bukit Merah Central appeared to be running smoothly on Tuesday (June 22) morning.
A temporary testing site was once again set up at Block 125A Bukit Merah View after a number of Covid-19 cases were found among people who had visited the supermarket, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday night.
The testing for those who work there or had visited the outlet between June 3 and June 21, is to break any possible chains of transmission, MOH said.
When The Straits Times visited at about 10am this morning, there were no queues and people were leaving the testing site after their swabs in an orderly manner.
A group of workers who identified themselves to be from Fairprice told ST that they were asked to go for the swab test on Tuesday, despite having already been swabbed last Saturday. They declined to be named.
They added that they were not particularly worried about Covid-19 cases having visited the supermarket, but had gone for their tests as part of the company's directives.
Others were more anxious and had wanted to get tested for peace of mind.
Madam Lee Cheng Toh, 61, told ST in Mandarin that she felt compelled to get tested as she visits the Faiprice outlet every Monday for her groceries.
In addition, she had visited the Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre, also linked to the outbreak, on June 12 and 13.
"Though I had not received any SMS telling me to get tested, I was still a little worried," said Madam Lee, a designer.
The market had been closed for cleaning and disinfection on June 13 and is expected to reopen only on June 26.
As of Monday, a total of 78 cases have been linked to the Bukit Merah Market cluster.
Most people who got tested told ST that they had wanted to do so as a precautionary measure, after having visited the supermarket during the window period.
The testing site will be open till Thursday. Those who want to be tested will be required to make an appointment.
The testing site will be open till June 24, 2021. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Mandatory testing has also begun at four test sites in Redhill Lane and Redhill Close on Monday, after viral fragments were detected in wastewater samples collected from some Housing Board blocks there.
The affected blocks are 81, 82 and 83 Redhill Lane and 87, 88, 89 and 90 Redhill Close.
Testing is optional for those who have already tested negative for Covid-19 since last Friday, MOH said.
When ST visited the test site at 89 Redhill Close at about 11am, no queues were seen.
People queueing at the test site at 89 Redhill Close on June 22, 2021. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Retiree Catherine Lim, 87, had received a call and got tested at 10am. The process was smooth, though the swab itself was quite uncomfortable, she told ST in Mandarin.
Madam Lim lives in Block 90, opposite the testing centre.
Asked if she was worried about getting a positive test result, she said, half in jest, that she did not want to fall ill as she still has money she wants to spend and things she would like to do.
Most of the residents ST spoke to said they got tested on Monday, after testing began at about 1pm. Many had since received negative test results.
One of them was retiree Calvin Teo, 67, who lives in Block 89.
He told ST in Mandarin: "I'm not very scared about the situation, as I think the community is generally quite safe. But it's good to be tested just to be sure."
He added that many residents living in Redhill Close were elderly, living alone and had trouble understanding the SMSes notifying them of their negative test results.
People queueing at the test site at 89 Redhill Close on June 22, 2021. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
He had helped to read and explain the messages to some of them.
One of them was retiree Chan Yew Fong, 75, who learnt of his negative test result only on Tuesday morning, despite having received the results on Monday night.
He told ST that he felt reassured, though he was not really worried about the Covid-19 situation as he had already received both doses of the vaccine.
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A temporary testing site was once again set up at Block 125A Bukit Merah View after a number of Covid-19 cases were found among people who had visited the supermarket, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday night.
The testing for those who work there or had visited the outlet between June 3 and June 21, is to break any possible chains of transmission, MOH said.
When The Straits Times visited at about 10am this morning, there were no queues and people were leaving the testing site after their swabs in an orderly manner.
A group of workers who identified themselves to be from Fairprice told ST that they were asked to go for the swab test on Tuesday, despite having already been swabbed last Saturday. They declined to be named.
They added that they were not particularly worried about Covid-19 cases having visited the supermarket, but had gone for their tests as part of the company's directives.
Others were more anxious and had wanted to get tested for peace of mind.
Madam Lee Cheng Toh, 61, told ST in Mandarin that she felt compelled to get tested as she visits the Faiprice outlet every Monday for her groceries.
In addition, she had visited the Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre, also linked to the outbreak, on June 12 and 13.
"Though I had not received any SMS telling me to get tested, I was still a little worried," said Madam Lee, a designer.
The market had been closed for cleaning and disinfection on June 13 and is expected to reopen only on June 26.
As of Monday, a total of 78 cases have been linked to the Bukit Merah Market cluster.
Most people who got tested told ST that they had wanted to do so as a precautionary measure, after having visited the supermarket during the window period.
The testing site will be open till Thursday. Those who want to be tested will be required to make an appointment.
The testing site will be open till June 24, 2021. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Mandatory testing has also begun at four test sites in Redhill Lane and Redhill Close on Monday, after viral fragments were detected in wastewater samples collected from some Housing Board blocks there.
The affected blocks are 81, 82 and 83 Redhill Lane and 87, 88, 89 and 90 Redhill Close.
Testing is optional for those who have already tested negative for Covid-19 since last Friday, MOH said.
When ST visited the test site at 89 Redhill Close at about 11am, no queues were seen.
People queueing at the test site at 89 Redhill Close on June 22, 2021. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Retiree Catherine Lim, 87, had received a call and got tested at 10am. The process was smooth, though the swab itself was quite uncomfortable, she told ST in Mandarin.
Madam Lim lives in Block 90, opposite the testing centre.
Asked if she was worried about getting a positive test result, she said, half in jest, that she did not want to fall ill as she still has money she wants to spend and things she would like to do.
Most of the residents ST spoke to said they got tested on Monday, after testing began at about 1pm. Many had since received negative test results.
One of them was retiree Calvin Teo, 67, who lives in Block 89.
He told ST in Mandarin: "I'm not very scared about the situation, as I think the community is generally quite safe. But it's good to be tested just to be sure."
He added that many residents living in Redhill Close were elderly, living alone and had trouble understanding the SMSes notifying them of their negative test results.
People queueing at the test site at 89 Redhill Close on June 22, 2021. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
He had helped to read and explain the messages to some of them.
One of them was retiree Chan Yew Fong, 75, who learnt of his negative test result only on Tuesday morning, despite having received the results on Monday night.
He told ST that he felt reassured, though he was not really worried about the Covid-19 situation as he had already received both doses of the vaccine.
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