Stalls selling fresh fish, seafood ordered to close; stallholders to be tested for COVID-19
SINGAPORE — Fresh fish and seafood stallholders at markets managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators have been ordered to close as a "precautionary measure" to curb the spread of COVID-19 among fishmongers.
In a joint press release on Sunday (18 July), NEA and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the stallholders will be receiving an SMS Health Risk Warning (HRW).
"The HRW means that the person is required by law to get a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test at designated testing centres. Until tested negative, the person is required to self-isolate and not leave their home," the release said.
Affected stallholders can also walk into any Regional Screening Centre (see list here) from Sunday should they wish to get their test done. Stallholders who receive a negative PCR test result are able to resume business immediately, the release added.
On top of the PCR test, the stallholders will also be issued with self-test Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits and will be required to use them on the seventh day from their last exposure to an infected case. They will also be required to undergo another PCR test around the 14th day from the date of their last known exposure.
The move comes after MOH said on Saturday that COVID-19 clusters had been uncovered involving fishmongers who had visited the Jurong Fishery Port to pick up their stock for sale at their respective markets.
MOH has also worked with NEA to conduct COVID-19 testing for all stallholders and stall assistants at markets and cooked food stalls located at hawker centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators. Those in this group will receive an SMS notification with the details of their scheduled test.
Stalls not selling fresh fish or seafood can continue to operate while the testing takes place over the next few days, said the release.
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