Hawkers and shops to get S$250 in cash after businesses affected by TB at Bukit Merah

SINGAPORE: As an extension of aid to hawkers and businesses affected by the recent tuberculosis cases in Bukit Merah, cash assistance of S$250 will be given, CNA reported Mr Eric Chua, the MP for the ward, as saying.

Mr Chua is also appealing to the authorities for rental and conservancy rebates, the details of which are being finalised.

Businesses in the area saw a drop in footfall after 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.

At the food centre, hawkers said they had lost as many as 50 per cent of their clientele after MOH announced. Some said the situation was even worse than during the COVID-19 pandemic because then, at least, customers were placing orders for takeaway.

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

Different public figures appealed for people to continue to patronize ABC Brickworks Market, including Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment  Amy Khor, and Progress Singapore Party chairman Tan Cheng Bock.

Many underlined that tuberculosis is not nearly as common as before and that infections are not spread when people share food or utensils.

Mr Chua told CNA that the financial assistance is due to an endeavour from the Queenstown Citizens Consultative Committee and the Central Singapore Community Development Council in light of the loss in earnings for the businesses.

He told CNA, “This cash grant is a show of the Queenstown grassroots organisations’ solidarity with our ABC hawkers and local businesses and will be disbursed by the end of February.”

On Feb 8, MOH issued an update on the TB screenings it carried out last month. Over four-fifths of the people screened tested negative for TB, while only two people have been diagnosed with active TB.

The ministry said that 2,548 people had been screened for TB. Among them, 2,158 persons (84.7 per cent) tested negative and did not require follow-up action; 322 persons (12.6 per cent) were diagnosed with latent TB infection, and two persons (0.1 per cent) diagnosed with active TB disease are infectious. /TISG

Read also: MOH: 2 people diagnosed with active TB at Jalan Bukit Merah