A photo of Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan removing safe distancing stickers on MRTs as ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB) ended was met with many questions.
Netizens wondered if removing them so soon was a good idea, as daily Covid-19 cases remain high.
When CB officially lifted on Tuesday (2 Jun), the sight of large crowds on various forms of public transport only fuelled their frustrations.
With community infections rising to 7 yesterday (3 Jun), perhaps there are valid grounds for their concerns.
In his Facebook post on Monday (1 Jun), Mr Khaw captioned the above photo with a simple explanation for the sticker removal.
From today onwards, the green and orange stickers will be removed as physical distancing will be difficult once the crowds return.
As the task force had advised Singaporeans to approach the lifting of CB with great caution, many didn’t take well to this move.
A common sentiment seemed to be that it was too soon, as people should continue safe distancing in Phase 1.
One netizen even pointed out that there are no vaccines yet, so we shouldn’t be complacent.
Their worries soared the next day when photos of crowds on various public transport platforms surfaced.
Precautions like staggered recess and dismissal timings may control crowds in schools, but the same doesn’t appear to happen outside.
As they wait for buses to arrive at different intervals, the number of students waiting at this bus stop grows, inadvertently mixing them all together.
The same is observed at MRT stations, where people rushing to work or school clustered around the doors at the platforms.
In a time where any sort of large gathering is still prohibited, large groups of people spending quite some time waiting around like this is rather ironic.
Singaporeans question the point of social restrictions when thwarted by inevitable situations like the public transport crowds.
A collage of these sightings by Facebook page All Singapore Stuff garnered a slew of critical comments.
Since many people are in some ways already gathering, a netizen pointed out that moving to Phase 2 and allowing dine-ins now would make no difference.
While controlling crowds on public transport is understandably tough, we can’t deny the validity of these people’s concerns.
Efforts to maintain social distancing in public spaces like restaurants remain, so why can’t the same apply to public transport?
There are no answers to this yet, but we hope that there will be soon, to allay our worries.
Are there other ways to control crowding on public transport? Share them in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
Operations returned to normal by mid-afternoon.
Vehicles were half-submerged in the water.
The perfect car for those terrified of parallel parking.
The politician and her husband adopted the monk last year.
He is also the first Singaporean to join any F1 development team.
Four flood warnings have been issued today affecting multiple areas.