East Coast Park Crowds Raise Concerns About Safe-Distancing: Masagos
With the reopening of nature reserves & beaches, families who’ve missed the great outdoors after our Circuit Breaker have thronged to the shore to catch up on lost time.
However, crowds at East Coast Park in particular, have caught the attention of Minister Masagos Zulkifli — who posted an urgent PSA on his Facebook page.
We summarise his observations below.
Large crowds gather at East Coast Park
Mr Masagos begins his post by describing the formation of “large crowds” at East Coast Park over the weekend.
When some large crowds were approached by safe-distancing ambassadors, they had faced “aggression & non-compliance” instead of dispersing.
Safe-distancing prevents risks of clusters
He shares that it’s important to ensure we keep to these 2 rules meant to protect us & our loved ones.
- No more than groups of 5 people
- Mask up except with eating, drinking or exercising
The main reasons being that limiting large gatherings will help contain the risks of formation of Covid-19 clusters in public.
Check crowd situation online before going
As such, when parts of the beach get too crowded, they will be closed by ambassadors. Groups with more than 5 present, will also be “turned away”.
If you & the fam are unsure whether to head down, you can check NParks’ safe-distancing portal to siam the crowds.
Balance freedom with responsibility
To ensure that we don’t slip into an unwitting second or third wave situation, we’ll have to tread the delicate balance carefully.
Between complete closures & partial reopenings with safe-distancing measures intact & respected, the choice is easy for sure.
Do you think more can be done to prevent crowds from gathering at popular nature hangouts? We’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Masagos Zulkifli on Facebook.
