In a press conference following the Prime Minister's announcements earlier on Friday (Apr. 3), National Development Minister Lawrence Wong made one thing very clear.
"Stay at home."
Wong stated that their original thought was that they could take some time to see if the measures implemented were effective in slowing down the spread of the virus.
However due to the very worrying trends, they could not wait any longer.
Wong noted that there are very likely undetected or hidden cases within the community. So instead of waiting for a situation where the cases risen sharply, they would try and quell that rise now.
Wong hoped that Singaporeans will understand the importance and necessity of the new painful measures.
Which Wong noted has not always been followed by everyone.
Wong said that as Singapore makes incremental moves and introduce new measures, Singaporeans are responsible and generally comply with them.
But there will always be a group that tries to push the rules to its limits.
He gave an example of how some would try to sit close together in establishments, or eat in rather than take-out even though a place is crowded.
Wong also noted that businesses or employees sometimes tell him that their boss tells them "cannot telecommute" even though their business allows them to do so. These are attitudes which Wong labels counterproductive.
Wong ended off the importance of these new rules with this statement.
"There's no more rule of 10 or whatever number -- just stay at home. Avoid interactions with anyone outside of your family members living together with you in the same household."
If these measures are followed through with diligently, the measures might be scaled back at the end of the month.