Amid the current economic difficulties due to the Covid-19 outbreak, particularly with the newly-announced circuit breaker measures, people are doing what they must to make ends meet.

A photo posted by Facebook page Singapore Election News Portal on the afternoon of Wednesday, Apr. 8 shows five masked police officers amidst a number of other individuals standing around in front of Grab's Driver Centre, located at Sin Ming Lane.

"The involved parties were advised to maintain peace and adhere to safe distancing measures. They complied and no further police assistance was required", their statement said.

Safe distancing measures at the Sin Ming office have been implemented since March. The measures include floor markers to ensure individuals queue one metre apart from others and issuing queue numbers so visitors do not need to wait in line for their turn.

Waited outside for hours

Videos shared on Twitter by The Local Society show a crowd of people gathered around the Grab office.

Some people can be heard saying that they have been waiting outside for several hours.

The scene at Grab office after drivers turned up allegedly wanted to sign up for GrabFood delivery. Police were called in for assistance

Follow JSN Telegram: https://t.co/eXGWnSONwW pic.twitter.com/EI29ecrxUN

— TheLocalSociety (@TLSsingapore) April 8, 2020

A message sent by the administrators of Telegram group GrabFood SG DP Official Announcements at 1:16pm on Wednesday announced that due to the crowd, the Grab Drive Centre had been closed in order to comply with safe distancing measures.

The message reads as follows:

Dear Partner,

Due to the crowd at our Grab Driver Centre, we regret to inform that the centre is closed to protect your wellbeing and comply with safe distancing measures. Please do not make your way to the Grab Driver Centre today to prevent overcrowding.

Please look out for an in-app message later today for updates on the gear collection process.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will update you as soon as possible on the next steps.

Mothership reached out to Grab about this alleged incident. Here is their statement.

"As part of an extended pilot programme that enables our driver-partners to sign up to do food and parcel deliveries, many applicants had turned up at the Grab Driver Centre (GDC) at Sin Ming today to collect their GrabFood delivery gear, thus forming a queue at our premises.

Unfortunately, we had to turn a proportion of them away in line with the latest Circuit Breaker measures, as well as to ensure the safety of all.

We would like to take this opportunity to assure our partners that they will be able to apply for an appointment slot to collect their delivery gear soon. This will ensure a seamless experience, and we can better support their needs.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to assure our partners and the wider community that we take all necessary precautions to look after their safety and wellbeing.”

Mothership understands that the GDC will now only open for appointments from 10am to 6pm (Monday to Friday).

Drivers and delivery-partners can apply for appointment slots for all services, they should not come down without an appointment

Top image via Facebook / Singapore Election News Portal and screen captured from Twitter

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