Minister: Home-Based Bakers Might Be Able to Continue Operating if COVID-19 Numbers Go Down

By
George Yang
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In recent days, home-based bakers had been struck by a rule that’d render all their ingredients useless—they’ve been told that they can’t operate off their home.

Well, technically, they can, unless their cookies or cakes can walk to their customers’ house by themselves.

Home-based businesses have been given the go-ahead to continue operating, but they can’t deliver their physical goods; this is akin to bubble tea shops being allowed to operate but they can’t sell bubble tea.

It’s pointless, and is geared towards fully online-based businesses instead.

Lest you didn’t know, it all started because someone “baotu-ed”—though that should be taken with a pinch of salt as the laws are laws, and that someone is just raising the issue.

Actress Ateeqah Mazlan uploaded a video, raising the question of the legality of home-based bakers. She contacted the authorities, in which she even posted the conversation online, and for some reason, she had a weird sense of tenacity in her to find out the truth.

Soon after, people saw this line in the HDB website:

The business does not require customers to self-collect the goods or require third-party delivery services to deliver goods.

Whether Ateeqah has anything to do with this or not is up to anyone’s guess, but home-based bakers, who usually have more orders during this Ramadan period, believed that she has snitched on them.

The video has been removed but it’s been re-uploaded:

But anyways, today, during a press conference, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong has addressed the issue.

Home-Based Bakers Might Be Able to Continue Operating if COVID-19 Numbers Go Down

For your info, here are the numbers for the community COVID-19  transmissions in the last five days (excluding today):

22 April = 17 (15 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 2 Work Passes)

23 April = 25 (22 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 3 Work Passes)

24 April = 25 (13 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 12 Work Passes)

25 April = 9 (7 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 2 Work/ Long-Term Visit Passes)

26 April = 18 (13 Singaporeans/Permanent Residents, 5 Work Passes)

Now, why is this important?

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Because that could determine whether home-based bakers are going to have snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In a press conference today,  Mr Wong understood that it wasn’t easy and some sacrifices have to be made, but they “call on everyone to hunker down until May 4 at least, because we want to bring community numbers down decisively.”

Well, good news #1: it seems like this could only last until 4 May 2020 instead of 1 June 2020. Tentatively.

He also said, “Current rules do not allow for home-based F&B, but if and when community numbers do continue to come down, as we said, we’re going to review the numbers.

“And if the numbers are brought down, we may very well relax some of the restrictions, and at that time, we will let Singaporeans know when this or any other activities that we think can start will be able to resume.”

In other words, it’s really not a matter of when the authorities are going to lift the restrictions—it really depends on the results.

He added, “We have explained why we had to tighten up the rules during this period all the way to May 4, why it is necessary and why these are requirements that all of us have to cooperate with and work together on… In recent days we have seen some continued decline in local transmission numbers, but we want to go all out to bring them down.”

So for all home-based bakers; don’t use your flour to clean your house yet. There is still hope.

Over in TikTok, there’s a drama involving property agents that’s caused by us. Here’s what happened:

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George Yang
Email: [email protected]