The Singapore government announced that the CB (circuit breaker) would end on June 1. But that did not mean everything went back to normal on June 2. They announced that the re-opening of the economy would gradually ease in three phases with safety measures, which is Phase 1 : Safe Re-opening, phase 2 : Safe Transition, and phase 3 : Safe Nation.
The reality is, phase 1 is not much different from the CB period. We are not allowed to meet our friends except family members, little shops are still closed, we are not allowed to eat in at the restaurants in Singapore. For the businesses, more businesses are allowed to resume operations, provided they acquire the necessary permissions and implement adequate safety measures like the Government’s “SafeEntry” system or staggered work hours. Otherwise it could lead to punishment. So that means “work from home” is still the regulation.
The conditions to shift to phase 2 are “If the community infection rates remain low and stable over the subsequent two weeks. The dormitory situation has also stabled”. The working from home is the still standard even once facing the phase 2, however almost the entire economy will re-open, subject to safe management measures being in place. People will be able to gather together in limited numbers and the other public facilities like sports gyms will be re-open. This seems like the “nearly there!” stage.
“Discovering, producing and distributing a safe and effective vaccine is vital to get life back to normal despite COVID-19.” Singapore’s Prime Minister Mr. Lee Hsien Loong said June 5th in a message showing our “New normal life” has just started.
Please be safe and healthy.
