No need for businesses to bar people coming from locations linked to cases

There is no need for businesses or owners of premises to deny access to people who live, work at or have visited locations accessed by confirmed Covid-19 cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

The reason is that these people do not have the same risk of exposure to the cases as close contacts of the cases would have, and the close contacts would already be quarantined, the ministry said in response to queries from The Straits Times.

"In the case of Bukit Batok Driving Centre, individuals who are unwell are advised not to proceed with classes and to seek medical treatment instead," said a spokesman for MOH.

The driving centre had earlier barred customers living in or near Bukit Merah View from entering its premises because of the cluster of coronavirus cases in the Bukit Merah View area.

The 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre is at the centre of Singapore's largest open Covid-19 cluster, with 91 infections linked to it. Another eight cases have been linked to a cluster at Block 119 Bukit Merah View.

Last Friday, the driving centre announced that students living near Bukit Merah View must cancel existing lesson bookings, and no lesson refunds would be given if they were denied entry to the centre.

It provided an update on Monday, stating that residents in the area could resume their lessons from Tuesday if they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

It also said that customers who cancel lessons scheduled for the next few days will have the fees fully refunded to their driving centre accounts.