Mandatory Covid-19 swab test has commenced at Hougang Blk 506 at around 1pm on May 21.

Leader of Opposition Pritam Singh and Member of Parliament Gerald Giam visited the block in the morning to check on  the residents and the testing facility set up at the void deck.

Residents are not overly concerned

Speaking to Mothership, Giam said that the town council has done "a whole wipe down" of the block yesterday after they were informed about the cases. The town council has also disinfected the high-touch surfaces at the block.

Giam added that he had spoken to some residents in the morning with Singh to understand their concerns. Giam also added that the team has issued flyers to the units at Blk 506 to inform them about this swab testing.

"By and large, [residents] are quite assured that things are being organised well over here," Giam told Mothership, adding that the concerns that some residents shared include whether they have to be swabbed if they are not staying at Blk 506.

Precautionary measure

Giam said that residents are not overly concerned but some are worried about the number of cases residing at Blk 506 as they were unsure of the numbers.

In response, Giam assured them that there are very few cases actually residing in the building and that the Ministry of Health is running this mandatory test as a precautionary measure.

Giam said that the residents will have to wait for around a day for the test results to be out and they are recommended to stay at home once they have done the swab test until they are informed about the results.

On the ground:

Top image via screenshot of Mothership video and by Joshua Lee