188 People Caught Breaking COVID-19 Rules in Hawker Centres in 3 Days

Rules are a funny thing.

And by that I mean it’s funny how some people will break rules that are supposed to protect them and those around them from harm.

While we may have been able to plead ignorance if we were caught for flouting COVID-19 rules early last year when they were introduced, that ship has sailed now.

Everyone knows what you’re allowed to do, and more importantly, what you’re not supposed to do.

But they’re sure acting like they don’t.

188 People Caught Breaking COVID-19 Rules in Hawker Centres in 3 Days

In just three days, from Friday (1 Oct) to Sunday (3 Oct), a whopping 188 people were caught breaching safe management measures at hawker centres.

That’s an average of 62 lawbreakers a day.

Officers from the Singapore Police Force and National Environment Agency (NEA) had visited hawker centres all around the country in a bid to enforce COVID-19 restrictions that were reimposed recently.

Some of the hawker centres where diners flouted the rules are Golden Mile Food Centre, Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, Newton Food Centre, and Whampoa Food Centre.

As you know, group sizes for dining in were reduced to two in a bid to give our healthcare system a break.

But some officers found diners gathering in groups of two, or failing to observe a safe distance of 1m.

Other breaches included:

• not wearing a mask
• pulling down their mask
• drinking alcohol past 10:30pm

Those caught breaching COVID-19 regulations can be fined $300 for the first offence, and $1,000 for the second.

According to the NEA, nearly 500 fines have been imposed for such breaches since August.

Reimposing Restrictions Was A “Difficult Decision”

Many residents are understandably frustrated due to the government reimposing restrictions after laying out its plans to live with COVID-19.

But as Finance Minister Lawrence Wong pointed out, the healthcare system and its workers have been facing tremendous pressure due to the influx of COVID-19 patients.

“With these temporary restrictions now, we are going all out to stabilise our healthcare protocols and augment our healthcare capacity,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Despite it being a necessary decision, Mr Wong said it was a “very difficult” one to make.

By slowing the pace with which the virus spreads, we can avoid the “unnecessary deaths” which may occur if the healthcare system gets overwhelmed, he explained.

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Featured Image: NEA