In anticipation of the Qing Ming period, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has issued an advisory to remind observers to maintain safe distancing amid the Covid-19 situation.

The Qing Ming festival takes place on Apr. 4, with the visiting period, where observers will remember their ancestors, expected to last from Mar. 20 to Apr. 18.

Be socially responsible as Covid-19 is not over yet

NEA said that stricter crowd control measures will be put in place and urges members of the public to be socially responsible.

NEA advised the following:

1. Minimise the family size visiting to two pax per household, with not more than eight pax per group;
2. Not bring elderly family members and young children;
3. Not eat and drink, or prolong their stay at the facilities;
4. Avoid crowding around the prayer and joss paper burning areas at the columbaria;
5. Keep a safe distance of at least 1 metre from other visitors, and wear a mask at all times; and
6. Carpool and register their vehicles if they intend to drive and park at Mandai Columbarium on peak days.

Safe Distancing Ambassadors will be deployed and traffic management arrangements will be put in place to help ease expected congestion.

From Mar. 20 to Apr. 18, the opening hours for government-managed columbaria will also open 24 hours daily.

These include Choa Chu Kang, Mandai, and Yishun Columbaria.

Peak periods crowd control measures

NEA has also identified some peak days during this Qing Ming period:

• March 2021: 20, 21, 27, 28
• April 2021: 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18

To improve traffic flow and manage the crowd, NEA will implement an e-appointment booking system for visitors driving to Mandai Columbarium for the above dates.

For visitors taking public transport, appointment booking is not required for visits.

E-appointment booking system for visitors driving to Mandai

For visitors driving to Mandai Columbarium during peak days, only vehicles registered with valid e-appointments will be allowed to enter and park at the premises.

Vehicles that arrive outside the appointment time may be denied entry.

NEA will release the appointment slots on Mar. 6, 2021.

Real-time traffic conditions

NEA will also be providing a real-time update on traffic conditions outside Mandai and Choa Chu Kang Columbaria via www.nea.gov.sg/qingming2021.

Shuttle bus services

For those who are heading to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery and Columbarium, a shuttle bus service will run on weekends from Mar. 20-Apr. 18, on Good Friday and on these peak days:

• March 2021: 20, 21, 27, 28
• April 2021: 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18

The bus will travel between NEA’s Claims & Registration Office (2 Christian Cemetery Path 2) and Choa Chu Kang Columbarium (51 Chinese Cemetery Path 4), at 15-minute intervals from 7am to 5pm.

For those heading to Mandai Columbarium, a shuttle bus service will run between Khatib MRT Station (Exit A pick-up point) and the rear entrance of Mandai Columbarium along Mandai Avenue.

There will be a fee of S$1 per trip for these shuttle bus services.

Top photo by Maverick Asio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images