Phase 2 Day 1 : The Good , The Bad and The Ugly

Were you out for Phase 2 yesterday?

If you were out, you would probably spot queues around the neighbourhood.  Phase 2 allows the reopening of most retail stores and the dining in at restaurants and hawker centres. While the situation has been compliant for most of the day with orderly queues and people enjoy the pleasure of eating out, the same cannot be said when evening came at entertainment hotspots around Singapore.

The Good

Orderly Queues and Social Distancing

The queues to shops were orderly and social distancing were practised. The people in queues had masked on. 

Eating out

Early scene at restaurants hawkers was encouraging. While it may take some time to get used to seeing people without masks at the food outlets, as long as they are dining in and not using it as an excuse for prolonging socialisation, it will be a sight we should get used to for this phase. 

Safety First

Source: CNA

At selected places with crowds, Police officers were spotted there managing the crowds. This gave the impression that the situation is cordial and under control.

The Bad

While all seem fine on the surface, there are those that would try to 'fool' the rules. While meeting in groups of five are allowed, socialising should be done with face masks on. There are many who used the opportunity to dine in and linger for a drink or two so they can spend more time socialising. 

Occasionally, you might spot groups bigger than 5 but seated next to each other so they can remain compliant to the 5 per group rules. Other behaviours observed included large groups playing contact sports such as football or basketball.  There are many instances where people choose not to wear their masks properly even in public places.

The Ugly

This post by Singapore Atrium Sale went viral overnight. It depicted the scene at Holland Village on Day 1. Such scenes were also noted at entertainment hotspots such as Katong and Siglap.

This group of people took the whole of the bad and made it ugly. 

Safe Distancing was non-existence. The opportunity to dine out in groups of 5 were taken advantage to the extreme. Groups of people were seen without masks and lingering in areas with drinks in their hands. Some just decided to forgo masks altogether as if we are back to pre COVID days. To be fair, the masks were on some of them, but they chose to not wear it as they should. The majority of the crowd are non-locals as seen from the photos.

Holland V Phase 2 Day 1 Source: Reader's Contribution 

Interestingly, while entertainment premises such as pubs and discos are not allowed to open during this phase, cafes with liquor and food licenses are allowed to open. This created a pseudo bar to operate under phase 2. The shops and the patrons are both responsible for this scene on the first day of Phase 2.

This will be a source of concern. When South Korea reopened its pubs after lockdown a month, they had reported a cluster of hundreds of Covid19 cases from the entertainment hotspot.  They were able to contain the spread through a robust tracking system. Unlike South Korea, Singapore's tracking abilities are limited to Trace Together and Safe Entry. The former has only a 20% take-up rate and the latter might not be used in circumstances similar to the night at Holland Village

The situation was acknowledged by Minister Masagos Zulkifi. He had indicated that patrols will be stepped up at nightspots and enforcement actions will be taken against operators and individuals who breach safe distancing measures.

Update 20 06

British India Curry Hut was ordered to close down as a result of this incident. Outdoor Refreshment Areas along Lorong Mambong are to be closed and Lorong Mambong will be reopened to traffic to prevent people from gathering on the streets.

The success of Phase 2 will be very much dependant on the individual. If one chooses to circumvent the rules, then we might be in for a short Phase 2. Everyone has a part to play. It makes no difference if you are a local or a foreigner who choose to work and live in Singapore.

If you are in Singapore, there are no 2 sets of rules for different groups. Do follow the rules regardless if you are local or foreigner.