Bukit Merah's Covid-19 guides

They were the "backbenchers" of Bukit Merah, eating, smoking and arguing - sometimes loudly - about issues important to them, while jealously holding on to their place.

But they were unseated when two of the four brown-tiled benches they claimed as their own at the void deck of Block 3 Jalan Bukit Merah were removed because the senior residents were not following Covid-19 rules.

They, and some members of the public, would also leave rubbish there after meals, said Mr Jayaprabha, treasurer of the Queenstown Hock San Zone Residents' Committee (RC). This was when dining-in restrictions were introduced during the pandemic.

More than 400 seniors live in Block 3, which comprises one-room rental units. It is next to the ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre.

"The mess (at the benches) attracted pigeons and other birds," added Mr Jayaprabha, 73. He goes by one name.

Mr Hussain Rondi, 73, a volunteer at Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre - which is next to the RC at Block 3's void deck - said the seniors would sometimes sit without keeping 1m apart from one another, and a few would smoke and chat without their masks on. He is a resident there as well.

Mr Hussain added that the police were called when a quarrel broke out a few months ago, after one of the seniors did not allow another elderly person to sit at the benches.

Soon after, two benches were removed.

Mr Hussain said: "I told them (the seniors) to be careful. The other two benches are for them to use. I told them to make sure to keep it clean, and no arguments. Sit far away with their masks on."

Mr Hussain and his wife, together with seniors activity centre programme coordinator Richard de Roza and Mr Jayaprabha, have been helping the elderly at Block 3 and nearby Housing Board blocks navigate the changing Covid-19 measures.

Bukit Merah is one of a few neighbourhoods with a larger number of residents aged 65 and above, , released by the Department of Statistics.

At least one in five residents in Bukit Merah is in that age group.

Before the pandemic, Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre was bustling with 80 to 90 residents each day.

Now, with a handful of staff and volunteers, the centre's roles include providing breakfast and lunch, and doing weekly check-ins with Block 3 seniors.

Mr de Roza, 73, is kept busy each day translating Housing Board and hospital letters for some seniors who cannot read English. Some residents have also asked him how to use the antigen rapid test kits that were sent to their mailboxes.

To ensure that the regulars at the benches take social distancing and mask wearing seriously, Mr Jayaprabha has put up a chart on the wall next to the benches.

Written in all four national languages, the chart highlights the daily Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalisation figure.

"I want to let the people know, and instil the fear in them about the pandemic," said Mr Jayaprabha.

At times, some elderly residents' lack of compliance with pandemic measures perplexes Mr de Roza and Mr Jayaprabha.

Once, a general practitioner in Bukit Merah informed Mr de Roza that an elderly resident had to stay at home for three days until her swab test results were out.

"I was surprised because I saw the lady walking to the market earlier that day. Fortunately, she tested negative," he said.

Over at Mei Ling Street in Queenstown, volunteers from ground-up initiative Project Hills have been distributing pamphlets about vaccination and booster shots to rental flat residents while bringing them meals and masks every weekend.

Volunteers have been helping seniors register for their jabs, and taking them to vaccination centres, said Ms Zulayqha Zulkifli, 27, co-founder of Project Hills.

Although many seniors in Mei Ling Street are vaccinated, there were a few at Block 151 who were more reluctant, she added.

Among them are three seniors who enjoy spending time at the Mei Ling Market and Food Centre.

Block 151 comprises one-room rental flats mainly occupied by older residents.

"They don't know the Delta variant. If they cannot understand how the virus works, we will have to show them how being unvaccinated will affect their lifestyle," she added.

Before the vaccination-differentiated measures at hawker centres started last month, Ms Zulayqha's older brother - also a co-founder of Project Hills - tried to convince the three unvaccinated seniors again.

"My brother said: 'Uncle, if you don't go for your vaccination, you can't sit at the coffee shop. Then you're stuck at home. You cannot meet your friends.'"

Her brother's persuasion worked, and the seniors went for their jabs a few weeks ago.

The number of unvaccinated seniors in Singapore has more than halved since early August, from 175,000 then to fewer than 64,000 now. But Covid-19 continues to affect the unvaccinated disproportionately, especially the elderly, noted Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary in Parliament last week.

Nearly 95 per cent of those who died in the last six months were aged 60 and above, and 72 per cent of all who died had not been fully vaccinated, he added.

In Lengkok Bahru, a coffee shop at Block 57 has been providing weekly free meals for 500 needy seniors in the area.

Three months ago, when S17 community kitchen founder Raymond Khoo was doing his routine check-ins with various rental flat seniors in the neighbourhood, he realised that many of the elderly were unvaccinated.

"More often than not, their concern was not being able to cook for the family or get food if they feel ill after the vaccine. Seniors told me: 'I heard my neighbour got vaccinated and her arm cannot lift up.'"

To get more seniors vaccinated, Mr Khoo, 58, decided to give meals to seniors for three days after each jab, so that they can focus on recuperating from side effects.

The initiative started three months ago, and the seniors can collect their lunch and dinner at S17 or have them delivered.

So far, 78 seniors have benefited from the initiative.

As a social enterprise, the coffee shop's free meals for seniors are covered by its nasi padang and drink stalls' business, as well as through profits earned from Mr Khoo's restaurant in Orchard Road, The Peranakan.

"But with heightened alert periods and tightened social restrictions this year, The Peranakan has been very badly affected. I don't know if we can survive through the end of the year."

Footfall at S17 has also plunged by 70 per cent since the middle of the year, when stallholders and residents of Blocks 55, 56, and 57 in Lengkok Bahru had to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing.

"Sales at S17 have not recovered since then," said Mr Khoo.

The restaurateur has been dipping into his own pocket - $15,000 to $20,000 a month for the past few months - to keep S17 going.

But he is determined to continue serving the Lengkok Bahru elderly.

He is now planning to distribute one-litre disinfectant sprays to the seniors, after noticing that some of them have been cleaning their homes more frequently because they fear catching the virus.

"They keep cleaning until their hands are dry, and skin is peeled. An elderly lady accidentally cut her finger while cleaning the house."