Businesses near Covid clusters bear the brunt as customers stay away
Cake shop owner Tan Kooi Tiang used to serve up to 200 customers a day, but this has dwindled to 30 to 40 over the past three weeks.
She is one of the shop owners affected by the emergence of four Covid-19 clusters in Bukit Merah View and Redhill.
Her Omzyn Cake shop is located in a block next to 115 Bukit Merah View Market and Hawker Centre, one of the clusters.
When The Straits Times visited the area yesterday and on Tuesday, some coffee shops, bakeries and convenience stores were still in operation. The market and food centre is closed till Saturday.
Ms Tan, 52, said: "I am worried about both my health and my business. I'm scared my customers or the people here may have Covid-19 so I don't dare to walk about too much."
She added that she is unsure she could earn enough this month to cover rent.
Six other shops that ST spoke to said their customer footfall had fallen by at least 50 per cent.
The food centre at Block 115 is popular with both residents as well as visitors.
Most of the 20 residents ST spoke to said they were staying home as a precaution.
Retired fruit seller Ong Gin Bock, 75, who lives in Block 121, site of one of the four clusters, said he limits his outings to essential activities such as buying food. "Sometimes I just stay home and eat Maggi noodles, but I can't be eating that every day," he added.
At the neighbouring Redhill Market and Food Centre, where a visit by an infected person between June 8 and 10 resulted in all shop owners, staff and tenants being tested for Covid-19, business was also hard hit even though all tested negative.
The centre is also in the vicinity of the new cluster at 90 Redhill Close declared by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong told ST that hawkers and shop owners at the Redhill centre told him their sales have dropped by up to 70 per cent during this period and has yet to pick up even with two-person dine-in being allowed from June 21.
"They hope that customers will recognise that all stallholders have recently tested negative for Covid-19, and come back to the market and food centre for their meals and groceries," said Mr Yong, adding that he is working with the market association and the town council to review additional support measures for affected hawkers and stallholders. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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