Sudden closure of Hong Lim Market leaves hawkers no choice but to throw away ingredients

Singapore — After the emergence of two new Covid-19 clusters on Friday (Jul 16), with Hong Lim Market & Food Centre being one of them, the sudden closure of the venue has left the Hong Lim Food Centre hawkers with no choice but to throw their ingredients away.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) reported three more locations, creating two new active clusters in Singapore.

Jurong Fishery Port and Hong Lim Market & Food Centre were grouped into one cluster, while Khoi Grill & Hotpot (Jalan Besar) made up the second cluster.

As of Sunday (Jul 18), MOH has reported 56 Covid-19 cases linked to the Jurong Fishery Port and Hong Lim Market & Food Centre cluster.

It was announced on Jul 16 that both venues would be closed from Saturday (Jul 17) to Jul 31 to break the chain of transmission and allow for deep cleaning of the premises.

“Dear customers, sudden closure of Hong Lim Market is a great shock to all of us,” wrote Tanglin Crispy Curry Puff on Facebook on Saturday (Jul 17).

“Efforts are down to (d)rain; ingredients will all be thrown away,” the stall added.

Despite comments from members of the online community suggesting that the stall make the award-winning curry puffs at home to sell, the stall confirmed they were not allowed to do so for safety reasons.

“Thanks for your support, and hope to hear from you soon… Next month,” the stall informed one of their customers, while also urging the public to stay safe and always have a mask on.

It was reported the announcement of closure had caught the Hong Lim Food Centre hawkers off-guard.

Another hawker also had to throw away ingredients that were prepared in anticipation for the weekend crowd.

They have also expressed concern that businesses would continue to be affected even after the food centre reopens, citing examples of other food centres reopening but experiencing a form of phobia from customers.

However, the hawkers acknowledged the need to curb the spread of the virus and confirmed compliance with the safety measures in place. /TISG

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