Singapore implemented “circuit breaker” measures from Tuesday (April 7) to reduce the recent sharp increase in Covid-19 cases within the country.
The appeal to the people from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and other leaders was to stay at home as far as possible to break the chain of transmission. It would seem that, while many people are staying home, there are quite a number who are still not taking the measures seriously, judging from photos taken on Tuesday.
For example, photos taken at a wet market in Jurong West that day and circulating on Facebook showed scores, possibly hundreds, of people there. Many were not practising safe distancing and there were those who were without masks.
The Facebook post, published by The Temasek Review on its social media page, was shared at least 323 times. The post also received 394 reactions and another 207 comments, most of which showed anger, disdain and disbelief that people were not heeding the pleas to stay home.
One person commented that this behaviour risked having the “circuit breaker” measures extended.
Another person who responded to the post shared his own photo of people in another part of the country not bothering with safe distancing or staying home.
One person felt that the complacency arose because the Government had been downplaying the real situation in the country.
The appeal to stay home was reinforced on Wednesday (April 8) by a new law, rushed through Parliament the day before, imposing a ban on social gatherings of any size, in homes or public spaces.
It covers private parties or gatherings with families or friends not living together, at home or in public spaces such as parks and void decks. /TISG