Coronavirus: Singapore
Swab testing of Bukit Merah View residents starts smoothly
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People queueing up yesterday at the Covid-19 testing site at Block 118 Bukit Merah View, one of three designated testing sites set up in the neighbourhood for residents of eight Housing Board blocks in the area, as well as for those who had visited these blocks or interacted with residents between June 5 and Saturday.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Mandatory swab tests for residents of eight Housing Board blocks in Bukit Merah View started smoothly yesterday, as Covid-19 testing was expanded to break the links of virus transmission in the community.
Compulsory testing was also conducted for tenants of Beo Crescent Market and Food Centre, Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre as well as the shops and commercial units at Blocks 34, 36, 38, 40 and 46 Beo Crescent.
The testing for residents of blocks 116, 117, 118, 119, 124A, 124B, 125 and 126 Bukit Merah View was conducted at three designated locations in the neighbourhood, after 21 cases of infection were detected in nine households at Block 119 Bukit Merah View.
Covid-19 viral fragments were also detected in wastewater samples collected from some of the blocks in the vicinity.
The eight blocks are near the 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre, which is linked to Singapore's largest open cluster, with 70 cases as at Saturday.
Residents told The Straits Times that they did not face a long wait for the test, with most of them queueing for 20 minutes or less.
Elderly residents with mobility issues were given priority.
Quality assurance engineer Chan Sook Foong said that the swab was not too painful, and that she wanted peace of mind.
The 56-year-old said that she usually goes to the market at Block 115 on weekends.
Ms Bai Ruoli, 27, a production operator, said she did not need to wait at all for her swab, as there was no queue at the testing station when she arrived.
Residents of the eight blocks received leaflets and SMS notifications about the mandatory testing.
Food product deliveryman Lim Ah Hwa, 62, was among the residents who were tested yesterday.
"My job requires me to go all over the island, so it's better to get tested and know I'm safe," he said.
A 57-year-old private tutor, who wanted to be known only as Mr Nair, said he was glad that mandatory testing was being done in the area.
"The market is usually quite crowded on weekends, and there are always residents loitering in the public areas downstairs. It's better if we are all tested, just in case the virus has spread to more families," he said.
Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira told ST that some residents tested yesterday had also gone for voluntary swab tests earlier, as they had been to either 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre or the shops at 116 Bukit Merah View between May 25 and June 12.
Voluntary testing was open to residents from last Tuesday to last Thursday, after Ms Pereira made an appeal to the Ministry of Health.
Despite having been swabbed earlier, many of the residents decided to get tested again. Testing is optional for those who tested negative for Covid-19 infection from last Tuesday.
"Residents are understandably concerned, and they understand the need for the mandatory swab operations in order to cast a wide net," Ms Pereira said.
Voluntary testing for visitors and those who interacted with residents of the eight HDB blocks between June 5 and Saturday is also under way at the three testing locations in Bukit Merah View.
For the Beo Crescent swab testing, Jalan Besar GRC MP Josephine Teo, who is also Minister for Communications and Information, told ST that about 450 individuals were tested by 6.30pm. About 200 have been found negative for Covid-19 infection, while results for the rest are still pending, she said.
• Additional reporting by Dominic Low
