Coronavirus: Singapore
Disinfection, cleaning in full swing at Jem and Westgate
Jurong East malls to stay shut for two weeks after 10 shoppers there test positive for virus
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An employee of Marche at Jem cleaning the restaurant yesterday. Shoppers were turned away from Jem and Westgate yesterday, but tenants were allowed into the malls. Workers were also seen disinfecting common touchpoints such as directory panels.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Charmaine Ng
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Workers were busy disinfecting and cleaning Jem and Westgate yesterday, a day after it was announced that both shopping malls in Jurong East will be closed for two weeks.
Shoppers were turned away but tenants were allowed into the malls - some were seen moving their goods out of their stores to be sent to other retail outlets.
This is the first time that such multi-tenant malls have been ordered to close since Singapore started tackling the Covid-19 pandemic in January last year.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health said it had instructed the malls to close for deep cleaning to curb the spread of Covid-19 after 10 shoppers there tested positive for the virus.
In response to media queries, a spokesman for Westgate said it would extend "relevant support" to its tenants, including rental waivers from CapitaLand, which owns the mall, to help them through the period of closure.
Tenants will also receive operational support to conduct online sales through CapitaLand's digital platforms eCapitaMall and Capita3Eats. Platform fees and commission fees will be waived for tenants during this period, said the spokesman.
Lendlease, which manages Jem, said the safety of its tenants and shoppers was its priority.
Its spokesman did not say whether it would extend similar assistance to its tenants.
"We are working closely with the authorities to safeguard our community's safety," he added.
Both malls have about 250 retailers each. They are located next to each other and connected by a link bridge.
The retailers affected include furniture chain Ikea, which has about 250 staff at Jem. Its outlet there opened just last month. The staff include contracted cleaners, security officers and safe distancing ambassadors, said an Ikea spokesman.
About 99 per cent of staff at the outlet have tested negative for Covid-19, while the rest are awaiting their test appointment date or results, he added.
"So far, no one has tested positive," said the spokesman.
A spokesman for StarHub, which has a store in Westgate managed by a third-party partner, said the telco strongly encourages customers to shop online instead of visiting StarHub stores.
Yesterday afternoon, the malls were empty and quiet except for tenants cleaning their stores and workers disinfecting common touchpoints such as directory panels.
Ms Amelia Koh, 29, visited Westgate on May 16 for about three hours to attend a cooking class.
The next day, she felt unwell and was swabbed for Covid-19. Her test results came back negative.
"I saw the news after I took the test so I definitely felt relieved, even though I'm already fully vaccinated," said the engineer.
A barricade being manned by a safe distancing officer at Westgate, a day after the Ministry of Health said the mall and Jem - both located in Jurong East - would be closed for two weeks for deep cleaning to curb the spread of Covid-19. Workers were seen disinfecting the premises at both malls yesterday.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
A GrabFood delivery driver, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tay, said he received a notification on his TraceTogether app on possible exposure to a Covid-19 case who had also visited Jem when he was picking up food for a customer.
"But I didn't go for testing because I usually spend only about 10 minutes inside the mall," said the 62-year-old, who is also fully vaccinated.
Despite the mall closures, the link bridges connecting Westgate and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital remain open. Some used the bridges to visit IMM mall, and those interviewed said they were not concerned about catching the virus.
