On Tuesday, Madam Chan Qwee Lin received a call telling her that nine Covid-19 cases had been confirmed at the Housing Board block where she lives, and offering her the option of getting tested for the coronavirus.
"I wasn't scared... because I have been healthy these past few weeks," the 64-year-old, who works at a nearby pre-school, told The Straits Times last night.
Fifty-eight households were placed under phone surveillance at Block 111 Tampines Street 11 after the cases were discovered last month.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday that swab tests had been offered to 160 people who are residents and visitors of the 58 households as a precautionary measure.
Block 111 has three lifts which serve 11 storeys of units.
All 58 households are in the same section of the block as the nine cases, and share a common lift and stairwell.
Residents whom The Straits Times spoke to said they did not know who the confirmed cases are, and that only those in units which use the lift in the centre of the block were offered the swab test.
Madam Chan said residents were told to go to the nearby Street 11 Clinic for the free test. She went for the swab test on Wednesday, along with two of her adult children, and received her test results on the same day. All of them tested negative for the virus.
Another resident, a 50-year-old man who works in IT and who declined to be named, said he and his wife went to get tested for peace of mind. "We had no symptoms. We did the testing so we could know for certain that we were virus-free. If not, we might keep on worrying about it."
Among other residents of the block who were concerned over the news of the cases was Miss Lee Beiyi, 18, an intern involved in operations at a warehouse.
She was frazzled when she saw the news last evening as she had been nursing a fever last week and was on five days of medical leave. While she does not live in the affected section of the block, she is still worried she may have the virus.
"I come into contact with a lot of people at work, so I can't imagine what would happen if I did catch Covid-19," said Miss Lee, adding that she was trying to arrange for a swab test at nearby hospital.
"It is the responsible thing to do," she said.
Speaking at a virtual press conference yesterday, Mr Gan said swab testing is not mandatory for the residents and visitors of the 58 households as they are not considered close contacts of the confirmed cases. The residents are also not under any quarantine orders, although they are encouraged to minimise their movements.
"We have interviewed them, and they generally do not have interaction with the infected families. But we want to take extra precautions, and that is why we offered them Covid-19 testing," he said.
He added that a significant number - 58 - had already been tested and their results turned out negative as of Wednesday. Another 29 residents are expected to be tested by the end of today.
Mr Gan added that if additional cases are detected, further measures might be taken, but what this entails depends on the nature of the cases detected.
He said: "The task force will continue to press on with our efforts... But the role of the individual is arguably even more critical. I urge everyone to continue to remain vigilant and be socially responsible so as to protect ourselves and our loved ones."
Mr Desmond Choo, a member of the PAP team in Tampines GRC, told The Straits Times that his team is working closely with the Health Ministry to monitor the situation, and has sanitised common areas in the affected block.
He added that the town council had already implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitisation of all blocks in Tampines GRC since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I have been in touch with some residents in the block, and they were assured by the cleaning and sanitisation protocols... The affected families are under quarantine now and we stand by to assist them in any way possible," he said.
