Nearly 30 people were spotted eating and mingling at six tables at Tekka Centre on Saturday (Nov. 28).

The multi-use building contains a wet market, a food centre, and other shops, and two of the community cases confirmed over the last two days were stallholders there.

The organiser, who declined to be named, said that the gathering was organised to celebrate Deepavali and the birthday of one of the attendees, according to a report in Lianhe Zaobao on Nov. 29.

It is understood that stallholders at Tekka Centre were among those present at the gathering.

Attendees seen intermingling

The organiser of the celebration told Lianhe Zaobao that he had reminded attendees to adhere to safe distancing measures, including ensuring that there were no more than five persons at each table.

He added that they dispersed after the celebration, and did not stay long in the area.

However, Lianhe Zaobao reported that attendees were spotted mingling across tables and not observing safe distancing, even though each table had a maximum of five people.

Attendees from different tables also interacted while taking food that was catered for the gathering, and did not keep a distance from each other.

Some attendees played recorded music.

Hawkers in nearby stalls were also invited to enjoy the food.

The celebration reportedly lasted till 8pm, with the organiser repeatedly reminding participants to practise safe distancing so as to avoid getting fined.

One hawker said that some of the participants had arrived by noon and started chatting and drinking with friends.

Apparently, the hawkers are used to people gathering around the same area.

However, the hawker added that there are plenty of enforcement officers making their rounds, to ensure that people adhere to the rules.

Two community cases at Tekka Centre

Two community cases involving stallholders in and around Tekka Centre have been confirmed in the last few days.

Yesterday, it was announced that a 60-year-old Singaporean stallholder who sells mutton at Tekka Market tested positive for Covid-19.

The infection was detected from community surveillance testing of stallholders in and around Tekka Centre, as part of the government's expanded testing operations for identified community groups.

Today, a second case was discovered at Tekka Centre.

Serological test results for both cases have come back positive, which indicates likely past infection, MOH said.

Other locations, such as Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, have also been identified for the testing operations.

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