REMARKS BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES, AT DOORSTOP INTERVIEW ON TUBERCULOSIS SCREENING AT HEARTBEAT@BEDOK

        Thank you everyone for coming today. Thank you to SMS Tan Kiat How, the Adviser of this area, and for hosting me at Heartbeat@Bedok and at the Block 216 Bedok Hawker Centre.   

2        First of all, I want to thank all the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) staff who set up this testing centre. Thanks to all the people who work here and the residents here. They are coming up in full force to get themselves tested for Tuberculosis (TB), so much so that we extended operations for another day until 8 May. So, thank you very much. I also want to thank our hawkers and vendors here for their understanding. Their businesses are definitely affected during this time. I hope by that by me coming here and eating with everybody, we send a clear message to Singaporeans. Now is the time to come to Bedok 216 to eat, because the queue is less. There are still people - less queue, but there is wonderful food here.

3        TB does not get transmitted casually through one, two or even three meetings, or the sharing of plates. It requires very prolonged, close exposure, so therefore coming to the hawker centre is perfectly safe. Please do continue to support our workers. Glad to see that Adviser SMS Tan Kiat How, has also managed to secure some help and support for the rental and service and conservancy charges. So I hope that in a couple of weeks’ time, business will go back to normal.

4        Comparing with February 2024, where I also visited ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre in Jalan Bukit Merah, because we also found a cluster there, and we also set up a similar testing centre. My observation is that, at ABC market, the business was affected much worse. It was very quiet. I could pick any tables I want. Today, I need to search for tables. So, I will say maybe Singaporeans are getting used to idea that from time to time for precautionary reasons we have to conduct such measures, to test everyone and suppress the disease. In the meantime, life should go on as per normal. This will be a recurring thing, and I hope we get better at it each time.

5        Talking about Jalan Bukit Merah, since February 2024, after we did the mass testing exercise, we had not had a single case of active TB from residents living in the area. We found seven others but living outside the area and visiting the area. Some came forward for screening, and some did not. So since then, about two and a half years ago, there have been seven cases all living outside the area. But because of the way we conduct the operations, going door-to-door, setting up the testing centre on site, residents came forward and participated in the screening where we found they have latent TB, we offer treatment and many took up the treatment. As a result, we really suppress the disease in the area. So, Jalan Bukit Merah is a success story and we are replicating it here.