Crowds prompt tighter safe-distancing at parks, beaches and nightspots

Singapore — Tighter measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19  have been implemented at various hot spots due to crowding, according to Mr Lawrence Wong, the Co-Chairman of the Multi-Ministry Task Force for Covid-19.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday (July 24), Mr Wong reminded everyone to uphold socially responsible behaviour such as going to the doctor when sick and to remember to follow all the safe distancing measures enforced by the task force.

“We have observed some areas where there have been more people gathering in recent time, particularly in the beaches and parks over the recent weekend,” said Mr Wong.

He mentioned it was probably due to the start of the school holidays the previous Saturday. “We saw more people gathering there, and that’s why we are stepping up our checks and enforcement, and we are also putting in place enhanced control measures at these popular places.”

Mr Wong highlighted that social distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers would be monitoring these areas, and when capacity limits are close to being reached, visitors would be prohibited from entering them. Included in the list of close monitoring are popular nightspots, said Mr Wong.

He noted that over the last week, suspension notices and fines were imposed on two F&B establishments along Circular Road, namely Try Again and Los Amigos.

“They are closed for dining in, and their establishments were issued with fines because of breaches with safe distancing measures and because they had groups of more than five people gathering there” despite being warned of the rules, he added.

Swift enforcement action is the approach being taken by safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers to ensure the safety of customers and all Singaporeans, he said.

Mr Wong also provided an overview of the Covid-19 situation in the country, wherein a decrease of confirmed cases should be seen in the weeks to come.

“With the dormitories and workers being cleared by the first week of August, with the community situation under control, we can expect our overall daily reported cases to come down by the middle of August,” he said.

Mr Wong, reminding everyone to stay vigilant and socially responsible, said: “Just because the case count comes down, that shouldn’t be a reason for us to go out and celebrate and to have a big party. Again, remember this fight is not over; there is still a long way to go. On the community front, we have to be vigilant; we need everyone to cooperate and be disciplined.” /TISG

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