Big Box shopping mall in Jurong East has been converted into a Covid-19 facility since early July.

The shopping centre has been left empty since it was put on sale in 2019.

The shopping mall has been used as a Community Care Facility (CCF) since July 4.

This is part of the expansion of the number of beds at CCFs.

Earlier this year, the Multiministry Task Force announced that the number of beds at CCFs will be doubled to 20,000 by end-June.

Besides Big Box, other CCFs are mostly located in the East which include D'Resort @ Downtown East, Expo and Changi Exhibition Centre.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the CCF at Big Box can house up to 2,900 patients with mild symptoms.

According to Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, only level one to three are being used as CCF, while the carpark at basement one and level four are still open to the public.

However, there is tight security put in place to ensure the public will not mingle with those resting in the facility.

The security operation is managed by Ashtree International, which updated on its Facebook page in late-July that there were around 100 security officers on site.

The CCF was visited by Minister for Education Lawrence Wong and Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong on July 28.

As of July 30, 1,200 patients were isolated in Big Box.

In response to Mothership's queries, MOH said that they will continue to review requirements and progressively stand down or put into reserve some of the community facilities.

Such facilities include those at Tuas South, Tanjong Pagar Terminal, NUS Prince George’s Park Residences, as well as the Singapore Armed Forces military camps, the statement added.

Each CCF has been designed and built to facilitate rapid scaling up and down depending on the needs and local situation.

A few sites have returned to original use, while other sites have been repurposed as temporary accommodation sites for recovered workers after the clearance of worker dormitories has completed.

These facilities can be activated and resources can be deployed swiftly when needed.

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Top photo via Ashtree International/Facebook