Business down by 50%, worse than COVID period: Bukit Merah hawkers lament impact of TB screenings

SINGAPORE: After the Health Ministry announced it would be carrying out tuberculosis (TB) screenings at Bukit Merah, hawkers at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre have said they’ve seen a sharp fall in the number of customers.

One hawker stall assistant told CNA the situation is even worse than it had been during the COVID-19 pandemic because at least then, customers were still buying food for takeaway. Others are saying that business is down to half to what it had previously been.

Mr Eric Chua, the MP for Queenstown, went on Facebook last week to explain that tuberculosis is not spread when people share food or utensils, but rather through “sustained close contact over many hours before it spreads. So even as we take precautions to limit the spread of TB, we can continue supporting our hawkers at ABC market.”

The Ministry of Health said on Jan 5 that it would be conducting the screenings from Jan 11 to 15, for around 3,000 residents and workers at  Blocks 1 and 3 Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre, and Thong Kheng Seniors Activity Centre @ Queenstown at Block 3 Jalan Bukit Merah.

From May to August 2022, a cluster of seven TB cases had been detected that was linked to Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah, which led to an onsite screening at the time, and the patients were treated for the condition.

Another 10 active TB disease cases were detected by the National TB Programme between February 2022 and July 2023

“As these cases have been started on treatment since diagnosis, they do not currently pose any public health risk, because active TB disease rapidly becomes non-infectious once treatment starts,” MOH said.

However, since these 10 cases have similar genetic make-up as the others, it’s possible that there has been a spread beyond Block 2 Jalan Bukit Merah to the immediate vicinity, but the screenings that MOH is carrying out is a “precautionary measure, to protect residents living in the area by identifying any undetected active TB disease cases, and prevent further transmission as far as possible.”

Professor Vernon Lee, group director of the communicable diseases division at MOH, was present at the screening station in Bukit Merah on Thursday (Jan 11).

“TB is a curable disease if treated early. Therefore, we want to identify any cases, treat them early and prevent the transmission of TB,” The Straits Times quotes him as saying.

ST added that a number of the stalls were closed at ABC Brickworks Market and Food Centre on the afternoon of Jan 11.

One hawker told CNA, “Since there is such a drop in business, I might as well take a break and don’t waste my time. If you cannot earn money you might as well rest. The ingredients I use to make my soup are not cheap.” /TISG

Read also: Kind Singaporeans help migrant worker diagnosed with tuberculosis be sent home with help to repay his loans