Anyone who says Singapore is clean and green has obviously never used a coffee shop toilet.
The cleanliness of hawker centres and coffee shops has greatly improved over the years, but their toilets remain resolute in their intention to induce vomiting in anyone who tries to use them.
But the Covid-19 outbreak might just change that.
Raising Hygiene and Cleanliness Standards
The authorities are introducing new measures to improve hygiene and cleanliness standards at hawker centres, coffee shops, and public toilets.
This is to contain the spread of the coronavirus as the country enters Phase 2 and Singaporeans start dining out again, according to The Straits Times.
On Wednesday (17 June), the National Environmental Agency (NEA) said that diners will now have to dispose of their used tissues and wet wipes, and return their trays and crockery to centralised stations.
There will be safe distancing ambassadors present to remind you to do these things, of course.
Reader: Not again
Would you actually do these things if no one was there to check up on you?
Reader: Ok good point
I’m sure you’ve come across individuals at hawker centres loudly and proudly blowing their noses into their tissues while you sit a few metres away eating your Chendol.
Leaving these mucus-filled tissues around only facilitates transmission of Covid-19, and more importantly, it’s freaking disgusting.
“When used tissues or wet wipes are left around, they can pose a risk to others who touch them directly, or who touch the surfaces where they were placed,” said NEA.
NEA added that disposing of them, as well as your plates and cutlery, lowers the risk of spreading the disease to cleaners, and makes their job easier as well.
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Cleaner Public Toilets
There’s no delicate way to put this but I’ll try my best: the coronavirus can spread through shit.
Some studies show evidence of Covid-19 genetic material in fecal matter, and fecal matter is something you’ll find in abundance in public toilets, especially the ones at coffee shops.
That’s why the authorities are also ramping up efforts to raise cleanliness standards in public toilets, to ensure food hygiene is not compromised.
The NEA is implementing a toilet improvement programme for older coffee shops and hawker centres, which will refresh their designs and include new technologies which would make it easier to maintain cleanliness.
Additionally, public toilet owners and operators are now required to provide basic amenities such as liquid hand soap, toilet paper, and litter bins in their facilities.
Clean public toilets are another key aspect of public health, the NEA said.
“Our First Line of Defence”
Speaking about the new initiatives, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said: “Cleanliness and good standards of hygiene are our first line of defence against evolving public health threats.”
“We need to make simple habits, such as returning our trays and disposing used tissues or wipes properly, social norms at hawker centres and coffee shops. This will complement NEA’s renewed efforts to uplift public toilet cleanliness in Singapore”, he added.
The NEA urged people to make these habits “a way of life beyond Covid-19 to help reduce risks to public health”.
Not Out of the Woods Yet
The government has chosen to move to Phase 2 because the rate of infection in the country is slowing, but we should still be on our guard.
In addition to safe distancing measures outdoors, it’d be good to keep a distance from your friends even if you’re drinking with them at 3am in the morning.
Yes, social gatherings of up to five people are now allowed, but that’s only because the government is trusting us to take the necessary precautions when we make social visits.
We don’t want to lose that privilege, so let’s not go crazy and forget all about the highly-infectious disease plaguing the world right now.
We’re not out of the woods yet, not even close.
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