Dinner Dates & Large Gatherings Won’t Be Allowed Immediately After ‘Circuit Breaker’ Ends
Those eagerly anticipating dinner dates with family and friends after the end of the ‘Circuit Breaker’ will have to wait a while longer.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong gave the news in Parliament on Monday (4 May), reports Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Mr Wong cites historical Covid-19 spread while eating out as reasons why we shouldn’t expect to have mala hotpot dates at Hai Di Lao any time soon.
Eating out & large gatherings are activities that must be assessed
Meeting each other in a place not named Zoom won’t be a reality just yet.
Mr Wong said the authorities must assess the risks of opening up restaurants and hawker centres for dine-in.
The reason? There are cases of community spread which took place precisely while eating out with others.
Large gatherings such as religious congregations also caused a number of Covid-19 cases, so there’ll definitely be restrictions at churches, mosques, and other places of worship after the ‘Circuit Breaker’ ends.
That said, we’re all already adapting to the restrictions and are holding religious activities online or on an individual basis.
These measures are likely to continue until Singapore can ensure that there won’t be community spread.
Safeguards must be in place before measures relaxed
Mr Wong said Singapore is paying attention to how measures can be relaxed without the risk of more virus spread.
Safeguards are required before we can open the streets up again, and there won’t be a return to pre-Covid-19 days.
For example, companies will have to adapt to the new normal, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) as well as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will work with companies to help.
Authorities want to test more
To prevent a new flare-up of cases, authorities intend on ramping up testing, especially for groups such as those at nursing homes and healthcare workers, Mr Wong said.
Then, more testing will be done for essential workers.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong mentioned that there are plans to test up to 40,000 people a day eventually, reported CNA.
Using TraceTogether and SafeEntry to contain spread
Alongside testing, authorities will use technology like TraceTogether and SafeEntry so that contact tracing can be faster.
SafeEntry will record visitors at workplaces and venues, so that we can track where people have been and can contact them as soon as a case is detected.
Catching community spread more quickly with these apps will help contain Covid-19 when people return to workplaces, for example.
May have to wait before having dates after ‘Circuit Breaker’
Bubble tea stores may re-open. So will McDonald’s. But those intending on hanging out in large groups may have to be more patient.
We cannot relax measures until we can be sure that community spread is low. And we can only do that if we stay at home and be responsible.
If everyone simply meets up without a care after CB is relaxed, we’ll probably be forced to stay at home again, and we don’t want that.
So let’s be a little more patient and mask up if going out.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
