Minister Happy That Businesses Are Complying With Social Distancing, Asks For Public To Cooperate

By
Siti Hawa
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It is a tough time for everyone as the COVID-19 outbreak ravages the world.

The number of confirmed cases in Singapore is rising each day and it is imperative that we adhere to the advisories issued by the government.

This includes but are not limited to not panic buying every toilet paper that you see at NTUC, and staying home to Netflix and chill on weekends instead of going to crowded places.

Minister Happy That Businesses Are Complying With Social Distancing, Asks For Public To Cooperate

Our Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing took to Facebook to share more news related to the coronavirus that has been plaguing Singapore and impacting our everyday lives.

For instance just last Friday, even “stricter safe distancing measures to limit close contact and large gatherings of people in close proximity over a prolonged period of time”.

At the same time, he says that Enterprise Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board also disseminated advisories to “help retail, F&B and tourism stakeholders put in place safe distancing measures with immediate effect.”

This means that some restaurants are ensuring that diners do not sit too close to each other and that customers leave a space between each other when they are queueing.

Most Businesses Are Complying 

He expresses happiness that many businesses have taken the advisory seriously and are adopting these measures.

For instance, they have “put in place crowd and queue management systems to minimise the gathering of large crowds.”

However, he does admit that not all businesses have implemented these safe distancing behaviours and understandably so as safe distancing might mean lesser customers they can accommodate and thus, lesser revenue.

Mr Chan said that he “strongly encourages” the other businesses to also comply and to not turn a blind eye to the advisories.

He maintains that the top priority is the health of Singaporeans and the need to overcome the virus as a nation, though he acknowledges that these measures can be hard to implement.

“I am aware that these measures can be difficult to implement, particularly for establishments that might have space or manpower constraints. These measures will also mean a drop in revenue for many establishments. However, these difficult measures are critical in safeguarding public health and must be implemented if we are to overcome the virus.”

Members Of The Public Also Plays Important Role

The main takeaway of his post is that the responsibility should not only rest on the businesses but also on members of the public and that they too play an important role.

For instance, what you can do to help as a customer is make it easier for the businesses by complying with the measures instead of giving staff a hard time.

“Please follow the instructions given by the stores you patronise and don’t make things difficult for the staff who are trying to do their jobs. Even if there’s no queue management system in place, make sure you don’t stand too close to other people in the queue.”

Mr Chan also encourages Singaporeans to support your favourite restaurant by taking away food instead of dining there.

“Support your favourite restaurant by ordering your food to go instead of eating in.”

The Priority Is To Minimise Risk Of Local Transmission

At the end of the day, he emphasises that the priority is to minimise the risk of local transmission and to reduce the number of cases so as to ease the burden on our healthcare system.

So let’s all play a part ladies and gentleman. Keep a good distance away from people and tabao your favourite food.

Doesn’t sound too hard when all my plans consist of Netflix and chilling at home.

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Siti Hawa
Email: [email protected]