Speaking to the media on Thursday, Eric Chua, the area’s lawmaker, also noted the drop in traffic at the food center and encouraged patrons to return.
“I would also like to ask everyone not to avoid the ABC market because ever since the news of this tuberculosis test came out, business here has been quite negatively affected,” he said.
Mandatory tuberculosis testing in the Bukit Merah area began on Thursday in the authorities’ biggest exercise to date. The exercise came after the detection of 10 more active cases linked to a cluster first discovered in 2022.
These 10 cases were discovered between February 2022 and July 2023 and were found to be linked to the cluster through genetic analysis.
Will Singapore’s hawkers be able to survive under the “pain” of rising food and rent costs?
Will Singapore’s hawkers be able to survive under the “pain” of rising food and rent costs?
Under this exercise, free mandatory testing will apply to those living and working in Block 1 and Block 3 of Jalan Bukit Merah, those working at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Center, and customers and staff at Tong Keng Senior Activity Center will be done. Located at Block 3, Bukit Merah Road. Free self-testing is also available for those who frequently visit the area.
The exercise will involve officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), who will go door-to-door to test residents in their homes. A large tent was also set up next to Block 3 Jalan Bukit Merah for the screening.
Professor Vernon Lee, Group Director of the Ministry of Health’s Infectious Diseases Group, told the media outside the tent on Thursday that more than 1,500 people, or 93% of those eligible for mandatory testing, have registered, and 500 people are eligible for voluntary testing. He said that more than one person is registered. Sifting.
“Differences from those scheduled for mandatory testing” [is] “The potential risk of exposure is high compared to any screening where the potential risk of exposure is low,” he said.
“We encourage everyone who: [is] If you are eligible for mandatory or voluntary testing, please come forward so that we can test you and identify potential cases of tuberculosis for early management and prevent further infection. ”
In total, the exercise is expected to target approximately 3,000 people living and working in Bukit Merah.
Not just me, but every store. [is bad]. I think it will continue like this for a few weeks.I hope you get better soon
“All active TB cases have been treated and are now non-infectious. However, as an added precaution, we are conducting this TB screening exercise to identify TB cases that may go undetected. , thereby preventing the risk of TB transmission as much as possible,” Professor Lee said.
“Tuberculosis is a curable disease if treated early. Therefore, we want to identify every case, treat it early and prevent the transmission of tuberculosis.”
He added that authorities are working to educate residents of the affected blocks and food center workers about the disease and get their questions answered.
Yong, a peddler who sells soup at ABC Brickworks, closed his shop due to poor business performance.
The 69-year-old man, who declined to give his full name, had gone for a mandatory test on Thursday, but then decided to go home.
“When the newspaper announced the review, business decreased by 50 percent,” he said in Mandarin.
“Business is down a lot, so you might want to take a break instead of wasting your time. If you can’t make money, you should take a break. The ingredients used to make the soup are by no means cheap. It’s not,” he said.
Another hawker selling satay and chicken wings described the situation as “very bad”.
“Not just me, but every store. [is bad]. I think it will continue like this for a few weeks. We hope that the situation will improve soon,” Mr Lim said, noting that the number of customers was 50 per cent lower than before.
Personally, Lim is not worried about her health as she has read about how tuberculosis spreads.
According to the MOH, transmission of M. tuberculosis from active cases typically requires prolonged exposure of days to weeks rather than minutes to hours. He also said that tuberculosis cannot be transmitted by sharing cups, utensils and food.
Tuberculosis is not spread by shaking hands, kissing, or touching bed linen or toilet seats.
Commenting on this information, a regular customer named Law said: “Life must go on. You just have to take precautions.”
Mr Low, who was seen sitting at the food centre, said he used to visit the area four or five times a week to visit relatives.
The 54-year-old, who works in the technology industry, plans to take a self-test, but says the disease is not as serious as the coronavirus.
“The new coronavirus is more serious because there are more people infected, it spreads very quickly, and its effects can be felt within days. So we probably need to be more cautious this time. Please wear a mask if necessary.”
Councilor Chua also expressed similar sentiments, telling the media: “Tuberculosis is completely different from the new coronavirus. It doesn’t spread that easily.”
“This market has a lot of delicious hawker food,” he added.
“And I am sure we all want to continue to support our favorite hawkers so that their livelihoods are not negatively affected.”
The Ministry of Health has previously said that tuberculosis has a long incubation period and people may not become ill for months or even years. People with latent TB infection do not show symptoms, are not contagious, and do not pose a public health risk. Only active cases are infectious.
There were 1,251 new active TB cases in Singapore in 2022.