Novena (Singapore)
Novena is a planning area in the Central Region of Singapore. The Novena is bounded in the north by Toa Payoh , in the west by Bukit Timah , in the south by Tanglin and in the east by Kallang. While Novena is not classified as a "new town" by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Whampoa's property in the Balestier subzone is part of the new town of Kallang / Whampoa .
The Tan Tock Seng Hospital , founded by philanthropist Tan Tock Seng in 1844 and one of the oldest and busiest hospitals in Singapore, is located in this area.
etymology
Novena and the associated streets, buildings and the MRT station are named after the Novena Church (canonically the Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori) in the region.
The current premises of the church belonged to a wealthy Chinese businessman, Wee Kah Kiat. The premises were bought by the Redemptorist priests in 1948 and a small church was built in May 1950, dedicated to our Mother of Perpetual Help called the Church of Saint Alphonsus. According to tradition, the novenas for Our Lady of Eternal Help began in January 1949 and were widely publicized and immediately spread in 1951, as suggested by Pope Pius XI. intended.
The Balestier Road was named after Joseph Balestier, who served in the 19th century as an American diplomat.
Housing situation
Land in Novena is expensive because it is close to the central area where the hotels are located. It is also close to the first satellite city, Toa Payoh. There are only a few HDB apartments in Novena, most of them are condominiums and private houses.
education
As of 2017, there are a total of three elementary schools, three secondary schools and one Catholic Junior College in the area.
hospital
National Center for Infectious Diseases
Before a quarantine facility was set up on Moulmein Road, there was a quarantine camp in Balestier in 1907. The quarantine facility on Moulmein Road, opened in 1913, was originally known as an isolation hospital. It was later renamed Middleton Hospital in 1920 in recognition of Dr. WRC Middleton, who served in hospital for 27 years after retiring. The center became a branch of Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in 1985, renamed Center for Communicable Diseases (CDC), and placed under the direction of the National Healthcare Group. On April 1, 1995, it was administered directly by TTSH.
In March 2003, CDC was the focal point of the SARS outbreak in Singapore. Existing HIV patients had to be moved to another location in the center, while patients with skin conditions had to be discharged to make room for the SARS quarantine patient. In the course of the outbreak, on March 22, 2003, TTSH took over the main hospital for quarantine and treatment of SARS patients. The similar procedure was then used for the 2009/10 pandemic flu .
On September 7, 2019, the National Center for Infectious Diseases was officially opened by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong . It has the latest technology and tracks patients around the building to prevent outbreaks from spreading. In addition, the building houses Singapore's first high-level isolation unit for highly contagious, even fatal diseases such as Ebola. The NCID is currently used as an isolation facility for patients infected with COVID-19 .
In addition, Lee Hsien Loong toured the facility of the National Infectious Disease Center on January 31, 2020.
Infrastructure
Novena is connected to Novena MRT station along the north-south (Singapore) line. This area doesn't have a bus exchange, the closest is Toa Payoh.
In the center of this area is Novena Square , a mixed-use settlement directly above the Novena station. The Novena Medical Center is located on Levels 8-11 of the Square 2 shopping center. Adjacent to the Novena Square Office Tower is a sports themed shopping center called Novena Velocity. Across from Novena Square and across from the intersection of Newton Road, Moulmein Road, and Thomson Road is United Square Shopping Mall , a kid-oriented mall with shops for toddlers, children and parents. Shops in the Novena area include Starbucks (one in United Square and one in Novena Square), Cold Storage, Decathlon, and the newly opened Don Don Donki on Square 2 , a Japanese discounter. The banks in the Novena region include POSB and UOB. Since Square 2 and Velocity began operating in recent years, Novena has seen significant improvements in opening new stores in the area.
politics
Previously, this constituency was part of the Moulmein constituency from 1959 to 1991 and was merged into Kampong Glam GRC from 1991 to 1997 and Ayer-Tanglin GRC from 1997 to 2001 in Crete. In these two GRCs, Sinnakaruppan Ramasamy was MP for Moulmein from 1991 to 2001. Later it went to Tanjong Pagar GRC from 2001 to 2011. Two MPs, Khaw Boon Wan and Lui Tuck Yew , cut their political teeth here.
In 2011-2015, Lui Tuck Yew even went to Moulmein-Kallang GRC before the constituency was dissolved in 2015 and before he retired. He was replaced by Melvin Yong in Tanjong Pagar GRC. The constituency had even moved to Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC (Toa Payoh East-Novena), and the MP is Saktiandi Supaat. In 2020, this constituency was even moved to Jalan Besar GRC (Whampoa) while the constituency is being renamed Novena-Whampoa.
Individual evidence
- ^ National Library Board Singapore: Joseph Balestier | Infopedia .
- ↑ LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. . Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ↑ The Origins of Singapore's Communicable Disease Center: Hanging Fire ( en-US ) October 31, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ↑ Communicable Disease Center | Infopedia .
- ↑ Benjamin Seet: Commentary: Why Singapore is better prepared to handle COVID-19 than SARS . In: Channel News Asia , March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- ^ Wuhan virus: Singapore may announce new measures in wake of WHO . January 31, 2020.