13,000 sign petition asking Govt to allow limited social interactions from June 2

Singapore — More than 13,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Government to allow limited social interactions once it begins to lift the circuit breaker from June 2.

Singapore has been under a circuit breaker from April 7 to prevent the spread of Covid-19. As the nation prepares for June 2, the Government has announced that some restrictions will remain and that the re-opening will take place in three phases to curb a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

In the first phase, more Singaporeans will be able to go back to working on-site while students will return to school. Households will be able to receive two visitors a day as long as they are children or grandchildren from the same family, places of worship will re-open for private worship and marriage solemnisations can take place in person with 10 attendees.

Some businesses like retail shops will remain closed during the first phase and plans to start dining out and meeting friends will have to wait for at least one more month.

Calling on the authorities to be “more practical” since the number of Covid-19 cases in the community is low, the organisers of the petition said that allowing people to meet in small groups is important for Singaporeans’ mental well-being and to sustain long-term relationships.

The petition has gone viral and garnered more than 13,000 signatures thus far. Some who signed it said that they miss their partners, while others said that they do not live with their family and wish to meet their friends. The petition, which can be viewed here, states:

“The Government has just announced the measures for ‘exiting the Circuit Breaker’ on June 2nd. The measures announced like allowing some businesses to open are important for our economy and livelihood. But it still does not allow people to meet up with friends.

“Human beings are social creatures and require physical interaction. The circuit breaker was necessary to stop community spread, but with low community numbers we need to be more practical. We can let people meet up in small groups with measures in place. This is important for our mental well-being and for long term relationship purposes.

“The past few weeks have demonstrated that we can mostly be responsible. Let us have some degree of freedom again — for our sake and for the country’s sake.”