The 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre, which is at the centre of Singapore's largest open Covid-19 cluster, reopened yesterday after a two-week closure.
However, fewer than 10 out of the centre's 182 stalls were open for business when The Straits Times visited at 8.30am. Some stallholders returned to clean their stalls and clear existing stock, after ending their quarantine on Saturday.
Human traffic was also visibly thin, as some residents had been told by hawkers that their stalls were not operating yet.
One stallholder who returned to work yesterday was Ms Lindawati Tjong, 47. She and her husband have been selling chicken for the last nine years.
She said she was not too worried about the virus as most of her family members have been vaccinated or are going to get the jab.
Her family of five, which includes three children aged 11, 17 and 19, were quarantined at home for the past two weeks. Their quarantine ended on Saturday.
Asked why she reopened so soon, she told reporters: "We have no choice. We have a family to feed and no income for the past two weeks." But she is more optimistic now that business can resume.
Ms Tjong's regular customer, lawyer Ho Woon Chan, 51, said he has observed behaviour that could pose risks of Covid-19 transmission at the market.
He said he has seen residents in the area smoking and drinking for hours. Some did not put on their masks properly, such as wearing them at the chin.
Mr Ho takes precautions, such as not loitering after his shopping is done. "I've started wearing masks since Chinese New Year last year," he added.
As at yesterday, there were 91 cases linked to the cluster at the market and food centre.
The earliest case in the cluster, which was announced on June 13, was found to have been infected on June 9. The 74-year-old Singaporean man worked at a sundry store there.
The centre was initially closed from June 13 to 15 for deep cleaning. The closure was later extended to June 26, after nine more cases were linked to the cluster on June 15.
Mr Oh Seng Hock, 70, who has sold newspapers for almost 50 years next to the market, said human traffic has dropped drastically in the past two weeks. He added: "There are flies around, but not people. There are more workers and reporters than customers."
Madam Aw Yeow, 64, who sells vegetables, was cleaning her stall yesterday. Her family was told on June 12 to quarantine for two weeks. She plans to resume business tomorrow when new stock arrives.
Other than the centre, Covid-19 clusters in the vicinity include 119 Bukit Merah View (eight cases), 121 Bukit Merah View (five cases), and 90 Redhill Close (four cases).
Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira, who was at the market yesterday, said there has been an "outpouring of love, care and support" for the hawkers and stallholders over the past two weeks.
"They've also shared with me that they are assured that we will be helping them to apply for the grants they are eligible for, because that would really help them financially."
She said the town council will continue to deep clean and disinfect common spaces and high-touch surfaces such as lift buttons and railings.
"NEA (the National Environment Agency) also shared with me that they will facilitate the routine testing of our hawkers every 14 days.
"Our hawkers do expect that people will be more cautious about coming back to dine in, and people might prefer to do takeaway or online delivery," she said, adding that an online delivery platform has agreed to offer free delivery for those who order food from the hawker centre.
Preparations for the reopening of the market and hawker centre included pasting additional queue markings on the floor in front of stalls to encourage safe distancing.
An NEA spokesman told ST on Saturday that the agency has worked with Tanjong Pagar Town Council to mark seats and tables at the dining areas, in line with prevailing regulations.
"Enforcement will be stepped up against patrons who do not comply with safe management measures, safe distancing and wearing of masks," said the spokesman.
The spokesman also said patrons should scan the TraceTogether-only SafeEntry QR code at all shopfronts before making purchases. "Safe distancing personnel will proactively check that patrons have performed check-ins. Stallholders and stall assistants will be reminded to check in and out via the... QR code at their stalls."
Professor Paul Tambyah, professor of medicine at the National University of Singapore's Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, told ST last week that the main concern about the Bukit Merah clusters was the large number of unvaccinated individuals who are still susceptible to the virus.
"While waiting for vaccinations to be rolled out, the concern is that we still do not know the mode of transmission so are not able to take specific targeted preventative action," he said.
