PM Lee on 21 April 2020 announced tighter measures to the Circuit Breaker period, to further reduce the transmission of COVID-19. He also announced that the Circuit Breaker period will be extended by another 4 weeks until 1 June 2020 (inclusive).

Here’s a breakdown of the tighter measures from now till 4 May:

Stay at home as much as possible, go out alone if you need to

From now till 4 May 2020, stay at home as much as possible. Avoid going out except to buy food and daily essentials, or for urgent medical needs.

If you must go out, go alone; not in groups or as a household. These trips are not meant to be family outings.

If you need to exercise outside, exercise alone and in your immediate neighbourhood. Do not travel unnecessarily to other parts of Singapore.

If you need to accompany a senior, person with disability, or young children to complete a certain task, do so and return home quickly.

Everyone must observe the circuit breaker measures strictly, so that we can quickly break transmissions and bring down the number of cases in the community.

Controlled access at areas susceptible to crowding, e.g. markets

For some local areas that are susceptible to crowding at certain times, making safe distancing difficult, site owners may introduce access restrictions.

For 4 popular wet markets – Geylang Serai Market, Blk 505, Jurong West St 52, Blk 20/21 Marsiling Lane, and Blk 104/105 Yishun Ring Road – entry will be permitted on alternate dates, depending on the last digit of your NRIC/FIN:

• If the last digit of your NRIC is an odd number – you will only be allowed to enter on odd dates of the month
• If the last digit of your NRIC is an even number – you will only be allowed to enter on even dates of the month

This will help spread out the crowd over the week, reducing crowding and long queues at these popular markets, especially on weekends.

Other wet markets and supermarkets which experience crowding may also introduce similar access restrictions.

For a list of hotspot areas, check this link. The list will be updated regularly.

Closure of more work premises and tighter workplace measures

From 21 April 2020, 2359 hours, the operations of less critical services will be suspended.

• For the food & beverage (F&B) sector: standalone outlets that only sell beverages, packaged snacks, confectioneries (e.g. sweets, toffees) or desserts will be required to close their outlets
• All other F&B outlets that sell meals can continue to remain open for takeaway and delivery services only
• Hairdressing and barber services will be required to close their outlets

For the list of activities that will be allowed to continue to operate, refer to this link.

From 21 April 2020, 2359 hours, additional restrictions will be placed on selected consumer-facing businesses to further reduce customer interactions.

• Optician shops can operate by appointment only; walk-in customers are longer accepted
• Pet supplies stores and retail laundry services must close their physical stores, but are permitted to provide online sales and delivery

The number of businesses allowed to operate at their work premises will also be reduced, especially businesses that are less critical for daily living or to maintain essential supply chains. Some businesses which are currently permitted to operate at their work premises will be required to suspend their on-site activities.

The affected businesses will be notified by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), and will have 24 hours upon notification to wind down their business operations completely. While this may mean some degradation of services, it is necessary to further reduce the number of workers in essential firms and minimise the risks of transmission among workers.

Additional safeguards for workplaces that remain open

Businesses allowed to continue operating must register their workers who are required to work on-site. The number of workers permitted will be reduced to the minimum needed.

Employers must put in place effective measures to avoid transmission of COVID-19 at and across workplace premises, including:

• Not allowing teams working in different locations to interact physically with one another
• Implementing safe distancing measures at every workplace premises
• Ensuring workers wear masks at the workplaces

All workplaces will also be required to have a system that logs their workers’ entry into, and exit from, their workplaces. Employers can consider using a digital check-in application called SafeEntry for this purpose.

More information on SafeEntry’s deployment at work premises can be found at go.gov.sg/safeentry.

Increased enforcement at work premises

Be advised that enforcement agencies will increase the number of inspections of workplace premises that remain open, and will take firm action against non-compliant workplaces.

First-time offenders will be issued composition offers of $1,000, and repeat offenders will face higher fines or prosecution in court.

Businesses will be required to suspend their operations should a cluster of infection arise among their staff working on the premises.