Singapore — In a move that has stirred conversations around Geylang Singapore nightlife, Madam Ho Ching declared in her latest Facebook post on Tuesday (Jul 27) that reviving nightlife activities, including at Geylang KTV joints, should be on the horizon.
The Temasek Holdings chief executive officer and wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong echoed what Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and other government officials have said that the KTV lounge Covid cluster is not responsible for the country’s return to stricter measures.
Instead, the official explanation is that it is the infection cluster at Jurong Fishery Port that caused Singapore to return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), with tighter restrictions on everyone’s movements due to “the likelihood of shooting into the community via hawker centres and markets.”
And so, following this line of reasoning along with the availability of vaccines, Mdm Ho wrote in her post that “we can re-open not just KTV but also the geylang (sic) night life, with vaccination and testing as key measures, alongside other safety measures like air sterilising and cleaning.”
She shared a link to a speech made in Parliament last Monday (Jul 26) by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, who had explained that the risk-assessed approach in allowing KTV clubs to pivot to food and beverage establishments had generally been effective until the arrival of the Delta variant.
The impact on Singapore’s nightlife
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on Singapore’s nightlife, with establishments like Geylang KTV and others temporarily shuttered to curb the spread of the virus. This move has led to significant financial strain on business owners and loss of income for thousands of employees working in the nightlife sector.
The nightlife industry’s shutdown has spurred a vigorous debate about the social and economic impacts of such measures. Supporters argue that strict restrictions are necessary to control the virus spread, while critics point to the severe economic impact on the sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In light of the Ho Ching nightlife reopening advocacy, stakeholders are holding on to the hope that a potential return to normalcy could be on the horizon, which could alleviate the economic struggles that many businesses in the sector currently face.
While it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold, Madam Ho Ching’s comments have undoubtedly added a new dimension to the ongoing dialogue about the future of Singapore’s nightlife in the face of the pandemic.
/TISG
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