Circuit Breaker April

Last week, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong announced an unprecedented move in implementing a "Circuit Breaker" (CB) measure from 7th April to 4th May, where everyone's supposed to work from home as much as possible, while students will move on to home-based learning.  Only essential services can continue operating during this period while observing safe distancing measures in their work premises.

Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong Addressing the Nation on The Circuit Breaker Period - Galaxy Note 9

In Singapore, the COVID-19 infection numbers increased from 106 in 1st March to 926 in 31st March.  The total number of deaths has been well controlled so far, numbering up to 6 as of 7th April.  It is also worth mentioning that some studies have indicated that an asymptomatic person could start spreading the virus 2-3 days after first getting it, which results in some local transmissions with unknown links.  As the number of local transmissions kept on increasing, the latest round of infection that hit the foreign worker dormitories could possibly bring the numbers up in the coming days.  While the government's efforts to contain the spread in the community has been remarkable, the cases in the foreign worker dormitories brings about a round of enlightenment.  Clearly, these people who "clean our dirty laundry" could, and should have been treated much better, especially with regards to their living conditions which is far from ideal. 

Apparently, some excerpts from the Prime Minister's speech was leaked before his scheduled address, which resulted in supermarkets suddenly getting packed even before his address.  I went to Tiong Bahru Plaza, thinking I could get into NTUC FairPrice to get some last minute necessities, well....  everybody else got the same idea.

The Queue to Enter NTUC FairPrice - Galaxy Note 9

The queue was so long that the police had to be called in to control the crowd, along with NTUC FairPrice's security staff and the mall's own security staff too.  So you could possibly imagine how hectic the scene was.  In the end I decided to just stock up on some medicines for my home's 1st aid kit from the pharmacy.

On the weekend, things were pretty much the same, it was crowded at the supermarkets, book stores and oddly, places such as IKEA, cafes and restaurants...  Apparently some people were using the weekend to enjoy their last bit of "freedom" before they were required to stay in for 4 weeks.

Shoppers Queuing to Enter Popular Bookstore Which Will be Closed During CB Period - Galaxy Note 9

I went over to Vivocity as the FairPrice there was much bigger, so we could get a better chance to get our usual groceries.  Well, it was packed slightly more than usual.

Checkout Queues at FairPrice Xtra Vivocity - Galaxy Note 9

The missus and I have been busy prepping for the kids' home-based learning too over the weekend.  Aside from their usual studies, we have to make sure that they won't get bored at home.  Anyway, I hope after this CB period, things would improve by a lot.  

Here's a closing shot for this short entry: 

Looking Forward to a Better May - Galaxy Note 9

~ Photos Taken With Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ~