People in Singapore wear face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Photo: AFP/VNA) Singapore (VNA) – Singaporean authorities said they will imposestronger punishments on those who repeatedly break the 28-day circuit-breakerrules.
This comes after Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli reportedon Facebook that enforcement officers were still finding people gathering ingroups on the second day of the circuit-breaker.
“Exercise groups are still meeting in the parks. A good number still do notobserve safe distancing when queueing, especially in the markets. These arewhere clusters of infections can be born,” Masagos Zulkifli wrote.
From April 9, enforcement officers will issue stern writtenwarnings to people found gathering in public, he said, adding that thesewarnings will be issued before the groups are dispersed, and the individuals’particulars will be recorded.
People found to breach the rules a second timewill be fined 300 SGP, and taken to court if caught a third time, Masagos saidin another Facebook post on April 9.
“There are still many people who are not taking the COVID-19 situationseriously. Some are even uncooperative, insisting on dining in at eatingplaces, not maintaining a safe distance when queuing in markets, and gatheringin parks to eat or exercise together,” he wrote, adding that policeintervention was required in some cases where people refused to budge.
Earlier on the same day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also warnedagainst public gathering.
“The number of new Covid-19 cases is increasing sharply, and we must complywith the Stay Home measures very strictly,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
The PM also urged the public to explain to their family and friends how seriousthe situation is.
“The more we take liberties with the Stay Home measures, the longer thesepainful measures will have to last. I know we all want to go back to normalcy,but this can only happen if we take things seriously,” he said.
TheSingapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been implementing socialdistancing measures on the metro and bus systems, such as limiting the numberof commuters who can enter train stations and buses.
Safe distancing stickers will be progressively rolled out on all trains, trainstations, buses, bus stops and bus interchanges to mark out spaces and seatsthat should be avoided by commuters. Thermal scanners are deployed atselected MRT stations to screen commuters before they enter the stations.
On April 8, Singapore reported a record 142 new coronavirus infections,bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,623./.
VNA
