Singapore – A bakery in Singapore has started a campaign to sponsor care packages for Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) staff after discovering that the “dire situation on the ground is more hard-pressed” than perceived.
Bakery Brera & Fine Foods, located at 8 Empress Road, took to Facebook on May 7 to appeal to the public.
Amid a surge in orders for care packages from TTSH staff to TTSH staff, the bakery owner wondered if the public could step in.
It “led me to discover the ‘dire’ situation on the ground is more hard-pressed than we thought,” the post noted.
“People shun them (TTSH staff), they are told not to inter-mingle, restricted movement – work and home only, many are put on quarantine order over different locations,” wrote the bakery.
“Afflicted, chaotic, distressed, lost, fearful, traumatised, short-handed are all under-statements,” the post added.
“Many have shed tears trying to cope with the sudden turn of event, particularly those with young kids and old folks at home.”
Therefore, the campaign was started in partnership with other food and beverage companies to sponsor lunches or snacks to TTSH staff “to help (them) tide over this critical two-week period”.
The group will reach out to the frontline healthcare workers “who are now the ‘victims’ whilst still serving the patients”.
The bakery owner, Thrina Low, told Mothership.sg that the initiative began because many of her regular customers are TTSH staff. Some eventually became her friends, hence the first-hand feedback she received.
She noted that the response so far has been overwhelming, with S$8,000 worth of orders placed on the first day of the initiative.
The owner realised that many were willing to reach out to TTSH staff to show solidarity but didn’t know how to do so.
The care packages will be delivered following TTSH’s restrictions to staff on the ground.
Those interested in sponsoring a lunch or snack care package can send the bakery a private message through their Facebook page. Do expect delays as they are dealing with a backlog of orders.
To date, there are a total of 43 Covid-19 confirmed cases in the TTSH cluster – 10 are staff members, 26 patients and seven visitors or household members, said Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday (May 11).
As of May 10, almost 2,500 people have been quarantined and 12,500 tested as part of the special testing operations. Another 12,000 staff members and 1,000 patients have been tested, including those who are under quarantine.
To curb the spread of the virus in the hospital, affected wards have been locked down, and all new admissions to the hospital have ceased.
Mr Gan said: “Even while we were dealing with the cluster, work was also ongoing to understand the source and course of the infection. Investigation is still ongoing, and more will be shared when it is ready.” /TISG
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