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SINGAPORE – With the holiday season just around the corner, authorities will also intensify controls and law enforcement over the coming weekends, the Minister of Education told the media on Tuesday (December 22), Lawrence Wong.
Safer distancing ambassadors will be deployed and, together with law enforcement officers, will be in hot spots and popular areas around the island.
Singapore cannot afford to lower its guard, warned Mr. Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry working group.
“I would like to remind and encourage everyone again, just do your part, follow through. Don’t push the limits,” he said.
“This is not the time to let our guard down … to think that Singapore is very safe and therefore we can afford to push the boundaries, relax and just have fun with great gatherings.”
Last week, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore will move to phase 3 reopening on December 28.
But on Tuesday (December 22), border measures had to be tightened for some travelers from the UK and Australia’s New South Wales (NSW).
[[nid:513746]]This also comes as recent reports emerged of a potentially more contagious strain of the Covid-19 virus circulating in the UK, prompting officials to place stricter restrictions, including imposing a new lockdown on London.
The restrictions on New South Wales travelers follow a cluster of cases centered on two restaurants and entertainment venues in a Sydney suburb.
Mr. Wong emphasized that even if some people don’t get caught up in the improved controls and enforcement, like the big meetings where “I close the doors … no one will know,” they ultimately put themselves in danger anymore your families.
“The controls are not going to be perfect. Even if we fail to catch some people who may have committed such infractions, at the end of the day, the people who are doing it are taking a chance,” he said.
“They are risking their health and that of their relatives because I am sure that the virus is still circulating among us, in a hidden way, at a very low level of transmission, cryptic transmission, if you call it, but it is happening.”
Five food and beverage (F&B) establishments have already been ordered to close, while another 16 establishments and 36 people will be fined for violating safe management measures, the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment said on Tuesday.
The breaches were discovered during intensified compliance checks over the past weekend.
The establishments had allowed groups of more than five to sit together or mingle. Some served and allowed alcohol consumption after 10:30 p.m.
[[nid:513445]]The ministry emphasized last Friday (December 18) that while many may wish to gather with family and friends during the holiday period, social gatherings in groups of more than five are not allowed outside of an individual’s residence.
Food and beverage establishments should also not accept group bookings of more than five, even if they are divided into multiple tables. Mixing of groups is also prohibited.
Mr. Wong said that while authorities will continue to monitor the situation at the borders, within Singapore, people must continue to take the pandemic seriously.
“Everyone must do their part within the community to remain alert and vigilant, recognizing that the threat is not over and that we all have a role to play in completing our mission together.”
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This article was first published in The times of the strait. Permission is required for reproduction.
