How Singaporeans marked the country’s first socially distanced National Day in the heartlands

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Scattered across the island, Singaporeans gathered in pockets of joy despite the Covid-19 pandemic to celebrate their 55th National Day, their first socially distanced one.

The reduced festivities meant the spectacles of yesteryear were out of the question. Yesterday morning, a small audience that included many front-line workers bore witness to a sober ceremony with just four marching contingents. Smoke from a 21-gun presidential salute filled the otherwise empty Padang.

But the thought of the virus did not stop Singaporeans from taking to the streets en masse – but masked – to wave at the tanks, police vehicles and ambulances rumbling past.

They set up camp as early as 8am on the Marina Barrage to catch the first maritime sail-past in 20 years. They peered out of windows and caught their breath as F-15 fighter jets roared past, flying in a tight arrowhead formation.

Wearing matching “I Heart SG” shirts, Ms Fatema Begum, 36, and her family watched a Chinook helicopter fly the State flag over the Barrage.

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