S’pore Won’t Go Back To Status Quo After ‘Circuit Breaker’ Ends, More Precautions Will Be Taken

Lawrence Wong Pre-Empts Citizens That Life Will Not Return To Normal After ‘Circuit Breaker’ Ends

Most of us probably have it in our minds that some sense of normalcy will return when ‘Circuit Breaker’ ends on 1 Jun.

However, this might not be the case. In fact, there might even be new precautions for speedier contact tracing.

This was all announced by Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong at a virtual press conference on Friday (8 May), reports The Straits Times.

Source

According to Mr Wong, the scenario after ‘Circuit Breaker’ will be one of “gradual, calibrated easing”.

He said,

Whatever the decision, whatever happens in the coming days or weeks, it is clearly not going to be the case that after June 1 everything will be lifted, and we will go back to status quo ante.

Mr Wong also mentioned that more precautions will be taken so that faster contact tracing can happen.

So that even if there were a case that emerges during that period, we can do much faster contact tracing, identify the contacts around that person, and quickly issue quarantine orders on an electronic platform instantly.

Citizens urged not to rush out on 12 May

The National Development Minister also urged citizens not to rush out after some measures are eased next week.

To recap, below are some services that are allowed to resume operations from 12 May:

• Barbers
• Laundries
• Home-based food businesses
• Selected F&B outlets like cakes shops and confectioneries

Mr Wong advised citizens to “pace themselves”, and reminded businesses to keep up necessary safe distancing measures. Inspectors will conduct spot checks to ensure compliance, and businesses that fail to comply will be asked to close.

He explains,

We are making progress because of the circuit breaker and we should continue to do our part to comply with the measures for the rest of the circuit breaker period.

Staying vigilant amid easing measures

The ‘Circuit Breaker’ measures might be easing, but this doesn’t mean our vigilance should follow suit.

If anything, we should continue to be cautious. The last thing we’d want is for a second wave of infections to kick-start ‘Circuit Breaker 2.0’.

Let’s not impede our own progress, and access the re-opened services only when absolutely necessary.

Featured image adapted from Bloomberg.