Covid-19: S'poreans advised to stay home & defer non-essential trips to malls

Don't go out, unless you really need to.

Syahindah Ishak| March 28, 2020, 12:35 PM

The government has urged Singaporeans to remain at home after the implementation of safe distancing measures to minimise further spread of Covid-19.

Defer non-essential trips to malls

In a Gov.sg Whatsapp message on Saturday (Mar. 28) morning, Singaporeans were urged to defer any non-essential trips to malls.

They should only head to a mall to purchase essential items, such as food.

They must also keep a distance of at least a metre apart from others.

In addition, Singaporeans were advised to buy food and groceries online, and reduce physical interaction as this is critical to curb the local transmission of Covid-19.

The government also advised foreign workers and foreign domestic workers to remain in their residences on their rest days.

Besides that, they should avoid gathering in public spaces or visiting crowded areas.

You can read Gov.sg's full message here:

Screenshot by Syahindah Ishak.

Safe distancing measures in malls

Safe distancing measures have been deployed across malls in Singapore.

While malls can remain open, operators are to ensure that the venue does not have more than one person per 16 square metres of usable space.

If they are unable to adhere to these requirements, they must be closed.

And those who do not comply to the one-meter safe distancing measures in public places could be fined or jailed under the Infectious Disease Act.

Several malls in Singapore have already started limiting the number of shoppers into the mall.

On Friday (Mar. 27), people were seen queuing up outside the premises:

Top images by Jeanette Tan & Zheng Zhangxin.