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Sports stadiums, initially opened for the public to exercise in, will now be closed, announced Minister Lawrence Wong and co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF).

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday (Apr. 9), Wong said that the decision to close stadiums had been made after sightings of people gathering at stadiums after circuit breaker measures came into effect on Apr. 7.

"Unfortunately we do see groups coming in to exercise in the stadium, which is not what the intention was."

"If you want to exercise, do it by yourself"

Wong said that while stadiums were initially kept open, the MTF could not allow them to remain accessible if there was no compliance and the venues continued to be used for the congregation of groups.

He reiterated that people were not being barred from exercising. Rather Singapore residents were encouraged to keep a safe distance while getting a workout.

"If you want to exercise, do it by yourself, or do it with a family member that's already living with you, and do it in your own neighbourhood."

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong agreed with Wong saying that it was "important to continue to exercise and have sunlight."

Yet, he urged the public to "minimise the need to travel long distances."

"The longer you travel the risk of close contact with people will increase," he said.

"So, instead of asking whether I can go to a park far away. We should ask whether we need to do that."

Circuit Breaker might be tightened

Wong indicated that the MTF would continue to "monitor movement" in the next few days and that further tightening of the circuit breaker measures was possible.

This would be done to ensure that the circuit breaker was effective and that the efforts and sacrifices of Singaporeans would pay off.

"So, let's be quite clear once again about what this circuit breaker means. It really requires all of us to minimise movement and stay at home as much as possible, so that we do not become the weakest link that causes another large cluster to emerge."

ActiveSG had previously announced on Apr. 6 that all public and private sports facilities and activities will be suspended from April 7 to May 4.

The closure includes (but is not limited to) ActiveSG Sports Centres, studios, gyms, indoor sports halls, swimming complexes, Active Health Labs, as well as The Float@Marina Bay and The Rink@JCube.

All sports facilities operated by private apartments and condominiums, country clubs, golf clubs, businesses, and national sports associations have also been closed.

Sports activities - regardless of whether it is conducted one-on-one or in a group; or if it is held indoors or outdoors - have been suspended.

During the circuit breaker, private coaches must use online telecommunications to train their clients.

Before today, 15 ActiveSG stadiums were kept open for members of the public to exercise in.

While these stadiums are now closed, public parks will remain open for people to exercise in, albeit at a safe distance.

Top image from ActiveSG Bishan Stadium's Facebook Page