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All eleven stores under Jin Tai Tong Food Industries will be temporarily closed for two weeks, the retail chain announced on May 20.

This comes after a temporary two-day closure on May 19 and 20 due to manpower constraint as all their staff had to be sent for Covid-19 swab tests.

A warehouse assistant was first tested positive for Covid-19 infection on May 15.

Two-week isolation for all employees

Around 100 employees had gone for a swab test on May 18 and were arranged for a two-week quarantine.

The factory, warehouse, and eleven retail stores have fully ceased operations to undergo deep cleaning prior to their official reopening on Jun. 3.

Managing Director of Jin Tai Tong Food Industries, Liu Shao Xian (translated from Chinese), 62, estimates that ceasing operations for two weeks would incur a loss of about S$100,000, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

There are 11 retail stores under Jin Tai Tong, including five medical halls and six JinTai Mart convenience stores.

Speaking to Wanbao, Liu said he decided to comply with the Ministry of Health's (MOH) recommendation to quarantine all the employees to ensure the safety of both employees and customers.

His employees are now quarantined at hotels while he is isolating himself at his condominium unit where he lives alone.

Liu told Wanbao that small businesses which are affected by Covid-19 situation are struggling to pay employees' salaries and rent. He hopes the government can consider offering some subsidies to help them during such difficult times.

Six cases in the cluster now

According to Wanbao, another Jin Tai Tong warehouse staff has been confirmed with Covid-19 infection last night.

In total, the Jin Tai Tong cluster now has six cases.

The five cases whose details have been announced by the Ministry of Health in their daily updates include:

1. A 55-year-old male Singaporean who works as a warehouse assistant at Jin Tai Mart (Case 63271)
2. A 69-year-old male Singaporean who works as a financial consultant at Project Renaissance, and is a close contact of Case 63271.
3. A 43-year-old male China national who works at Jin Tai Tong Food Industries Pte Ltd.
4. A 26-year-old male Vietnam national who works as a warehouse assistant at Jin Tai Tong Chinese Medical Centre, and is a workplace contact of Case 63271.
5. A 39-year-old male China national who works as a warehouse assistant at Jin Tai Tong Food Industries Pte Ltd, and is a workplace contact of Case 63271.

Top images by Sham Abdullah and Loo San on Google Maps.