Everyone needs to wear a mask when they leave their place of residence, with very few exceptions.
A woman wearing a mask is seen walking at Orchard Road, Singapore on Feb 3. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
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SINGAPORE: Anyone caught not wearing a mask when they leave their residence from Wednesday (Apr 15) faces a fine of S$300 for the first offence and S$1,000 if they do it again.
On Tuesday, the multi-ministry task force tackling the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore announced it will now be mandatory for everyone to wear a mask when they leave their residence.
The new regulation was added to the Government Gazette at 4am on Wednesday (Apr 15) as part of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
According to the notice by the Ministry of Health (MOH), there are only a few scenarios where members of the public do not have to use a mask.
All individuals aged two and above must wear a mask over their nose and mouth when they leave their residence, the notice reads. Anyone escorting children will be responsible for ensuring the child wears a mask, if they are two years old and older.
A person engaging in strenuous exercise, such as running or jogging, can remove their mask temporarily but must put it back once the activity is over. Walking is not considered a strenuous activity.
Anyone travelling in a car or van alone does not have to wear a mask. If the driver and passengers live in the same household, they do not have to use a mask when in they are in the vehicle.
According to the law, people who are “carrying out, in the course of employment, an activity that requires that no mask may be worn, or that it must be removed in order that other equiment may be used or worn” do not have to wear a mask when outdoors, such as if they are diving or welding.
Individuals who are “legally directed” to remove their mask for identification purposes can also do so, said the notice.
Children below the age of two will not need to wear a mask based on medical experts’ recommendations on child safety, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday.
Mr Wong, who co-chairs the the task force with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, noted that the Government had updated its advisory on masks based on the “latest medical and scientific advice”, and that the exercise to distribute reusable masks to Singapore residents was completed over the weekend.
“Please do not use this mask-wearing requirement now to say ‘okay, I can go out’,” he added.
“You should not go out as much as possible. Just stay at home. Do all the right things – practice good hand hygiene and stay at home as much as possible.”
“But in the rare occasion that you do need to go out for purchase of your groceries or purchase of essentials, then it’s only at that time that you wear a mask.”
SINGAPORE: It was the second time in a row that Andy Teo’s tutee had cancelled on him. “Hope the (virus) situation gets better,” a text message from the student’s parent read.
This – and another student cancelling lessons for two weeks due to a stay-home notice – got Andy thinking about how he could best teach online.
On Apr 3, it was announced that schools would move to full home-based learning (HBL) for a month. and this had Andy worrying further. What about other students who, like his tutees, struggled to keep up in class? Could it be even harder for them now?
How could he make himself available to those in need?
Then an idea struck: What if he rallied fellow tutors to volunteer their time for free?
(Photo: Pixabay)
TEMPORARY ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE
Andy’s idea was simple: Tutors, in any subject from the primary to tertiary school level, would first register via a Google form. They could indicate how much time they wanted to offer – even if it were just 30 minutes.
Students who needed help would be able to browse the list of registered tutors, and contact their desired ones by email. The tutor would decide how to conduct the lesson remotely, be it using video conferencing tools like Zoom or text messaging.
The Temporary Academic Assistance (TAA) initiative is meant to be a resource platform that runs itself, explained Andy, 25, a final-year business and accounting student at Nanyang Technological University.
“For example, if the student were struggling with algebra on a particular day and could not get to their teacher, they could find help here,” Andy said, noting that teachers might be swamped with preparing HBL materials every day.
I just hope the community of tutors with time to spare can fill this gap.
It took him barely a day to swing into action. On Apr 4, he began putting out a call for tutors on his social media pages, and friends helped to spread the word.
A call put out to volunteers, students and parents to tap on TAA. (Photo: Andy Teo)
Every day, 10 to 20 people signed up. In just over a week, 250 volunteers were ready to serve.
“The generosity of the volunteers really touched me. I thought, if I could reach 50 tutors, that was more than enough,” Andy said.
What was also surprising was the wide range of volunteers, Andy said. Some had no tutoring experience but offered to help in wherever their strengths lay. So, besides the usual math, science and language subjects, there were those who could teach art, design and technology, music, and the humanities.
For students in polytechnic, ITE or university, there was help available in engineering, computer science and mass communication. One volunteer even specialised in teaching primary school children with autism.
Upon registration, students can indicate and rank the subjects they need help with. On their part, volunteer tutors choose what to teach from a list of examinable subjects in Singapore, and indicate their experience level.
The students and tutors will then be matched by the CTSS team, led by Quek Hui Ying, 20. Tutors are encouraged to conduct lessons via the online tutoring platform Bramble, which has been made free with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Quek Hui Ying, 20, who started Covid-19 Tutoring Support for Students.
A week into the initiative, more than 1,400 volunteers have signed up, and more than 180 students matched with tutors.
“It has been very heart-warming to see Singaporeans stepping up to help each other,” said Hui Ying, a first-year history student at Oxford University. “Strangers can come together to do really nice things when they put their mind to it.”
CTSS is now run by a core team, all students aged 19 to 22 – three of them people whom Hui Ying didn’t previously know, but had approached her to help.
The team of students behind CTSS. Top row (left to right): Theng Shi Chee, Quek Hui Ying, Ellisha Khairi. Bottom row (left to right): Mohammed Aizam, Yu Diwei, Benjamin Lim. (Photo: Quek Hui Ying)
HELP IS FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT
Setting up his TAA initiative took Andy back to his secondary school days, when he needed to book a consultation with his English teacher every week to get better at the subject.
“Now that a lot of people cannot see their teacher, I can imagine how difficult it must be, especially for students who cannot afford tuition,” Andy said.
While this service is meant primarily for students who do not have tuition, it is open to all. Said Andy: “In these difficult times, I don’t think we should be so selective in terms of who we help.
If we can give, and we have the time now, why not?
Likewise, at CTSS, the system is “based on trust”, Hui Ying said.
The team does not ask about the background of a student or their parents. But one single mother of four shared with them how difficult it has been to cope with the outbreak – she had lost her job, and it has been a struggle to juggle HBL for all her children.
So the team hopes to reach out to more Family Service Centres and student care centres, which are best able to identify families in real need. “To all students who really need academic support, don’t be afraid to sign up. We are ready to help,” Hui Ying said.
The CTSS website.
While Andy is unable to track how many students have used TAA so far – since students choose and contact their tutor directly – he worries that word of the initiative has been spreading only among those who can offer tuition support.
He hopes this resource can be shared with more parents and students in need. “With so many volunteers, it shows that many have the same concern for students… What we get in return (for our time) is students not lagging behind. That is the greatest satisfaction for a tutor.”
SINGAPORE: With so much news circulating about the COVID-19 situation in Singapore, freelance yoga teacher Ms Lim Lishan feels more anxious than usual. While she does not usually have anxiety, she has been experiencing a faster heart rate and shallow breathing more often these days.
Ms Lim, who was previously diagnosed with type one bipolar disorder and bulimia nervosa, said: “You keep seeing a lot of news and you hear people around you always talking about it, so it does make you feel anxious.
“And there are a lot of fears in people. I feel like this virus has triggered a sense of uncertainty and insecurity, and made people panic more. I’m more sensitive in nature so I feel that it increases my anxiety level.”
Ms Lim is just one of the Singaporeans whose mental health has been affected by the COVID-19 situation, feeling anxious and uncertain about the future.
Calls from new clients to mental health hotlines have gone up, while existing clients have expressed fresh worries about their health and the economic fallout, according to mental health organisations and counsellors CNA spoke to.
Worldwide, the number of calls made to mental health hotlines has jumped as well, according to news reports. Calls to US federal crisis hotline Disaster Distress Helpline spiked 891 per cent in March year-on-year, CNN reported. In China, hotlines that sprung up in response to the COVID-19 outbreak were inundated by callers, Reuters said.
For digital marketing freelancer Vivien Yap, 24, who experiences depressive symptoms, she did not feel as anxious about the situation as much as she thought she would at first.
“When it happened, I felt slightly better because it felt like the whole world was on my level… And it really just felt like the whole world was depressed as well, everyone was going through the same uncertainty.”
However, she started feeling more anxious when she received a notice from her employer informing her that her pay would be cut by 25 to 30 per cent, shortly after the circuit breaker measures were announced on Apr 3.
Ms Yap, who is also a local musician, is in the middle of producing her next music release, and was worried about her expenses.
“My pay is being cut by 25 to 30 per cent, that’s quite a lot of money, but I still need to support and pay the people who are helping me (with my music).
“And I don’t want to tell them, ‘hey we’re in tough times can we slow down the payment?’ because I know (for the arts freelancers) it’s really far worse. So that’s when the anxiety kicked in for me.”
MORE DIALING IN
Suicide prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore’s (SOS) chief executive Mr Gasper Tan said that they received an increase of more than 22 per cent in the number of calls attended to on their 24-hour hotline in March 2020 as compared to that of the same period in 2019.
The Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH) observed an increase in phone calls to several services as well. The SAMH Insight Centre, which provides counselling services, saw an increase in helpline calls by 50 per cent in February and March 2020 compared to the average calls from April 2019 to Jan 2020, it said.
Sessions on Fei Yue Community Services’ online counselling portal eC2.sg surged last month, a spokesperson said. The number of chats more than doubled in March this year to 85, after averaging about 40 chats a month in 2018 and 2019.
According to the various organisations, callers have brought up a range of issues, from their employment prospects – some have lost their jobs, while others will graduate to a potentially bleak employment market – to their increasing fear of catching the invisible pathogen, especially if they were to pass it to their loved ones unknowingly.
With schools and workplaces shutting down, and restrictions on movements in play, individuals may start to feel a lack of control over their situation as well, leading to more stress that gets harder to manage, said the Fei Yue spokesperson.
A cordoned-off playground near Block 878A Tampines Street 86. (Photo: Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources)
“The fear, anxiety and the loss of a sense of control over a prolonged period of time can be detrimental to one’s mental health,” added Mr Tan.
“Being exposed to prolonged stress may be overwhelming to an individual with intense feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.”
CONTENTS OF DISCUSSION HAVE “SHIFTED DRASTICALLY”
Attendance at some counselling services has been consistent, but some existing clients have been raising issues related to the virus, they say.
Dr Tracie Lazaroo, a clinical psychologist from Inner Light Psychological Services and LP Clinic, said that the nature of the content within the appointments has “shifted drastically”.
“The pandemic has affected people in different ways: For some it has given increased anxiety, for others it has created a hyper vigilance over health related issues.”
Individuals that are accustomed to a routine and a specific level of socialisation may find it hard to shift their lifestyle patterns, she said, adding that pressure levels among those with mental health conditions may compound as they struggle to adapt to the crisis while dealing with already-present stressors.
Given that the virus is invisible to the human eye, some people have become paranoid about their safety, she added, producing “an attitude of hyper vigilance and overthinking where prolonged fear can negatively impact their mental well-being”.
Youth mental health non-profit Limitless has similarly not seen an uptick in people asking for help, its founder Mr Asher Low said, but their beneficiaries have been expressing unease over factors stemming from COVID-19.
“Some are genuinely concerned about not being able to get jobs, some are concerned about money, some are concerned about losing family members, quite a few are just very affected by the isolation,” he said.
With classes now put on hold till the end of April, many centres have turned to home-based learning, with lessons mostly delivered online.
COPING WITH CORONAVIRUS FEARS
To be mentally healthy during this period, be committed about staying connected with friends and family members, the mental health advocates said.
“Maintaining a strong social connection, either through social media, texts or calls, is as important as prioritising a healthy diet and sleep pattern,” SOS’ Mr Tan said. “This period is also an opportunity to catch up and engage in meaningful conversations with family members.”
And for those who need someone to confide in – there is no shame in reaching out, the counsellors said. There are hotlines to call – including a national one rolled out on Friday – and mental well-being webinars to join.
For example, Brahm Centre has launched daily workout sessions and mindfulness workshops that participants can join either via Facebook Live or Zoom.
Instead of harping on the constraints, view the ‘circuit breaker’ as a chance to do something meaningful as well, they said, like signing up for a course online, gardening or learning a new recipe.
“Focus on things that are within your control,” Dr Lazaroo said. “It is important to acknowledge your own limits, and do small activities that can improve your self-care and strengthen your resilience.”
“Practice mindfulness, gratitude, self compassion and living in the moment.”
SINGAPORE: The hashtag #WFH (“working from home”) has dominated social media posts, as Singapore’s “circuit breaker” measures kick in and non-essential workplaces shutter.
It is difficult enough to lead teams in the middle of market conditions worsening faster than the 2008 global financial crisis. Try doing that while figuring out split teams and physical isolation, not to mention fighting off panic at the growing contagion.
It is precisely in a time like this we need to stay united and learn from one another.
I have been privileged to speak with many business and HR leaders since the outbreak (over video calls no less) and have distilled five useful tips, cross-referenced with global studies, for managing remote teams.
First, don’t let your team have to second guess how their lives at work will look like. They are already surrounded by a swirling vortex of uncertainty. Work should not add to that.
A survey conducted by healthcare consultancy Business Group Health revealed 54 per cent of employees believe employers are responsible for protecting the public during health crises, and have high levels of trust in their organisations.
Leaders should create common reference points for their teams of information on company policies and internal communications – where they can find announcements related to work arrangements during this COVID-19 crisis.
Most importantly, organisations must outline the reasons behind these policies and articulate the leadership principles guiding decision-making through this crisis, whether this entails fixing a Zoom meeting at a certain time of the day or coordinating actions with other departments.
Small toy figures are seen in front of diplayed Zoom logo in this illustration taken March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
The good news is, the same study also indicated seven in 10 large employers have an established emergency preparedness plan to guide supportive measures for employees during the coronavirus outbreak.
But for teams working through these, creating these reference points can be as simple as having an internal document circulated to everyone and updated periodically, with links to authoritative sources of information to prevent the spread of disinformation.
2. ENCOURAGE AND COMMUNICATE ROUTINES
Second, accept that we all need some element of predictability in our lives. Having a daily working routine helps reduce stress from uncertainty and improves productivity. Communicate what this is to your team.
The top-performing companies we observed established working routines for their teams even while they were working from home.
The basics include maintaining connectivity during stipulated office hours. In some cases, team members check in over chat with their managers when they start and end work for the day.
Using status icons helps to indicate availability where teams aren’t used to sharing calendars.
Counterintuitively, the importance of the routine is not the hours when people are at work. Respecting “out of office” hours allows for a psychological separation of work and personal lives.
Good managers focus on team productivity during working hours but they also do their best to protect downtime as far as possible because productivity is negatively impacted when team members are “always-on”.
A study conducted by Airtasker, an online services marketplace, showed on average, remote employees worked 1.4 more days every month, or 16.8 more days every year, than those who worked in an office.
3. USE VIDEO CALLS, GIFS, EVEN EMOJIS, TO CONNECT
Third, embrace the fact that humans are social animals and thrive on non-verbal cues exchanged in face-to-face communication, which cannot be allowed to disappear with remote working. Ask how you can move beyond emails and instant messaging when communicating with the team.
Video calls are a great idea. They allow for some non-verbal communication, improve understanding and allow for constructive conversations when there is disagreement between two or more parties.
Research conducted by Gartner revealed 40 per cent of organisations have set up additional virtual check-ins for employees with managers and 32 per cent have introduced new tools for virtual meetings.
Video calls also prompt individuals to find a dedicated workstation at home, a best practice that improves productivity while also encouraging some physical separation between work and personal life.
Over chat, using appropriate emojis, stickers and GIFs (video snippets) can convey tone more effectively and augment textual communication, avoiding miscommunication during stressful situations.
4. ENCOURAGE ‘SANITY CALLS’
Fourth, keep in mind that even for those familiar with remote work, one can easily feel out of sight and out of mind. Check in with your team regularly.
One of the most common complaints about remote work is loneliness. Separating employees from their teams and organisations affects talent functionally, socially and emotionally.
During sensitive periods, organisations must fight isolation by strengthening relationships and diffusing a sense of resilience.
A study by remote company Buffer found that one in five remote workers identify loneliness as their biggest struggle, on par with difficulties in collaboration and communication.
Some organisations like Asia’s leading financial supermarket, GoBear, have shared they allocate time to do “sanity calls” – dedicated video calls to check in individuals or groups.
Having coffee, or a meal, together virtually can help break up periods of being alone, and help team members take time out from work. Ideally, all parties on the call would close windows on their desktops and focus on connecting with one another.
Likewise, the leading superapp in Southeast Asia, Grab, launched a radio station that shares information and allows for song dedications between employees. They also have a chat board that pairs employees who do not know each other well for virtual coffee sessions. Employees get to know each other better, strengthening the social bonds across the company during these difficult times.
All these help tackle feelings of isolation. As an added bonus, they also allow bosses to demonstrate care and concern for their team through a very difficult and stressful period.
Combining these initiatives with regular organisational climate surveys to assess overall morale can nip remote work challenges in the bud.
5. ACCEPT A PRODUCTIVITY RAMP TIME
Fifth, understand that teams will need time to get used to working remotely; they must “build muscle” before they can become truly effective. Productivity may drop in the first few weeks as adjustments are made so ask how they are adjusting.
When a quarantine order hits you out of nowhere, online delivery services will save the day. (Photo: Pexels/Canva Studio)
Each team member will take time to get used to the new way of working and develop a natural rhythm. They may need to ensure their home Wi-Fi bandwidths are enough and set clear boundaries with other family members at home also working remotely.
The best leaders we spoke to planned for this, and in some cases, chose to bite the bullet earlier to get a head start before the circuit breakers were rolled out.
The coronavirus story is one with an unclear ending.
But it is likely that the economy will take longer to recover and get COVID-19 under control. Even after the pandemic is over, businesses have a chance to reimagine and reinvent the way they work instead of reverting to old methods.
If leaders invest in these practices, they may be rewarded with more engaged, resilient and high-performing teams.
SINGAPORE: A variety of traditional Indian sweets were distributed to foreign workers to celebrate the Tamil and Bengali New Year on Tuesday (Apr 14).
The initiative by the Inter-Agency Taskforce and the Hindu Endowments Board was to “give workers some comfort during this difficult period”, the manpower ministry said in a news release.
Workers at Westlite Toh Guan. (Photo: MOM)
A worker receiving sweets at Toh Guan Dormitory. (Photo: MOM)
The COVID-19 situation in Singapore has made it worse for the workers who already come to Singapore with a “certain level of trepidation” after leaving their families behind, said T Raja Segar, CEO of the Hindu Endowments Board.
“It is very difficult even for us to imagine how they feel. It’s quite scary for them,” he said.
“The only thing that is actually bright for the workers are all these festivals. They look towards Deepavali, they look towards Pongal, they look towards the New Year. These are the high points in their lives in the year.
“Now that the New Year has come, they are not able to enjoy as they did over the last few years. Their families are not here. The only way they can enjoy is to come out, be with friends, have a good meal, go to the temple, pray and so on.
“They can’t do any of those things. The least we can do is to cheer them up a little bit.”
Sweets distributed at Westlite Toh Guan. (Photo: MOM)
A total of 123,000 traditional Indian sweets, including laddu, mysore pauk, paal gova were prepared by 24 Hindu temples. These were then distributed to foreign workers across 22 locations.
“This is a first of its kind effort by the Hindu Endowments Board, bringing temples together to produce traditional sweets on this scale,” the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) added.
Workers also received fast food like KFC and vegetarian pizza on top of their daily meals, the Inter-Agency Taskforce said, adding more than 90,000 such meals were distributed.
“We hope that these festive goodies will help to lift the spirits of the foreign workers as they celebrate this festive occasion,” MOM said.
SINGAPORE: With a “significant drop” in the number of people taking public buses and trains during the COVID-19 circuit breaker period, train frequencies will be reduced and selected bus services will be suspended, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a news release on Tuesday (Apr 14).
“Compared to the pre-COVID-19 period, daily bus and rail ridership has fallen by more than 71 per cent and 75 per cent respectively,” LTA said.
“These adjustments will help to mitigate the significant financial impact caused by the reduced riderships, and help keep public transport operations financially sustainable.”
The changes for bus services will take effect from Wednesday, and adjustments to MRT services will kick in on Friday.
BUS SERVICES
Selected bus services serving the Central Business District or recreational places will be suspended as trips to these destinations have decreased the most, LTA said.
These are the affected services:
(Table: LTA)
TRAIN SERVICES
The frequencies for trains operating on the North-South, East-West, North East, Circle and Downtown Lines will be reduced to no more than five minutes during peak periods and around 10 minutes during off-peak periods.
They currently operate at frequencies of no more than three minutes during peak hours and around five minutes during off-peak periods.
Operating hours will also be shortened, ending about 30 minutes earlier.
The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will see its hours further shortened to operate between 6.30am and 8pm. It currently operates on shorter hours to facilitate system integration works for TEL Phase 2.
It will continue to operate at frequencies of around seven minutes during peak periods, and 12 minutes during off-peak hours.
The Sengkang-Punggol LRT will operate a single loop service during off-peak periods and end train service about 30 minutes earlier, given reduced ridership, LTA added.
There are no changes to the Bukit Panjang LRT service, which is already operating a single loop service during off-peak periods.
(Table: LTA)
With these changes in place, LTA said operators will also ensure that there is sufficient space for commuters to maintain safe distancing from one another.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has designed an adjustable, reusable face shield to protect the country’s frontline workers from COVID-19, amid a global shortage of protective equipment.
Called FaceProtect+, the shield has an adjustable frame that caters to different face sizes and people who wear spectacles, said DSTA in a news release on Tuesday (Apr 14).
Compared to commercial off-the-shelf shields, the DSTA version has a wider, longer and thicker visor. It also covers a larger portion of the face and can be reused after it is washed with soap and water, said DSTA.
Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has designed an adjustable, reusable face shield to protect the country’s frontline workers from COVID-19, amid a global shortage of protective equipment. (Photo: Defence Science and Technology Agency)
Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has designed an adjustable, reusable face shield to protect the country’s frontline workers from COVID-19, amid a global shortage of protective equipment. (Photo: Defence Science and Technology Agency)
“With the heightened demand for PPE, our engineers started to design and prototype a cost-effective, lightweight and reusable face shield that offers an extra layer of protection for our frontline workers,” said Mr Shawn Chew, a senior engineer from the National Security Programme Centre in DSTA.
DSTA, a statutory board under the Ministry of Defence, is working with Racer Technology to locally manufacture the face shields, which will be supplied to public agencies, including the Ministry of Defence and the Singapore Armed Forces, the Ministry of Manpower and the Land Transport Authority.
SINGAPORE: To build resilience for future economic shocks, countries in the region should have common criteria on travel and trade restrictions, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Apr 14).
“It would be useful for ASEAN to have a set of common criteria or guidelines on when to impose travel or trade restrictions, and when and how we can relax them and with what appropriate safeguards,” he said at a virtual Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19.
“We each have our own domestic considerations, but clear guidelines would help us take a balanced, rational approach that takes into account both health and economic considerations.”
The ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies should study this issue, he added.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaks to leaders in the region via video conference during a Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 on Apr 14, 2020. (Photo: MCI)
Mr Lee and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan joined the summit via video conference on Tuesday morning. The summit convened by Vietnam, the ASEAN chair for 2020, was chaired by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Mr Lee said that the crisis will “fundamentally change globalisation”, as he predicted controls on movement of people across borders and that governments will intervene to prevent over-dependency on other countries for food, medical products and other essential goods.
ASEAN countries should therefore do their best to build cooperation and trust with one another, he said.
“We must resist the temptation to turn inwards and away from one another.”
The 10 ASEAN countries have reported at least 20,000 COVID-19 cases in total, but the number is likely to be higher given the lack of testing capability in some areas. Countries have imposed measures to restrict the movement of residents, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“Many of us also export goods and agricultural products overseas. Closing our borders completely would therefore only deprive us all of goods and products that we can produce together, hurting our economies and worsening unemployment,” he said.
He proposed that the regional bloc should still aim to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year and should also continue pursuing the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement with the European Union.
“Dealing with the immediate crises, while not losing sight of the longer-term objectives is the best way to enable our economies to survive this crisis, and to bounce back after COVID-19 passes,” he said.
At the summit, leaders of the ASEAN nations shared information about their states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed ways in which ASEAN could strengthen cooperation on COVID-19, Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information said in a media release.
Regional leaders in a video conference during a Special ASEAN Summit on COVID-19 on Apr 14, 2020. (Photo: MCI)
They also emphasised the importance of keeping trade routes open and preserving supply chain connectivity especially for essential goods such as medical supplies and food.
The leaders also adopted a joint declaration of the Special ASEAN Summit on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Lee said that it was critical for ASEAN to mount a united response, because of how connected and interdependent the countries are.
Four of the world’s 10 busiest air routes are between ASEAN member states and it has the world’s busiest land crossing – the Causeway between Johor Bahru and Singapore.
“None of us in ASEAN can be truly safe unless the entire region is safe,” he said.
By sharing information and keeping each other updated on the situations in each member state, the countries may learn from each other as well as co-operate on issues such as the repatriation of citizens from other countries back home, he added.
SINGAPORE: SMRT bus captain Shandran Shederen Raman, 53, was taking the train to work last Tuesday afternoon (Apr 7) when a boy wearing a green-and-blue Pathlight School uniform hopped over to sit next to him.
The student, 12-year-old Theodore Tan, didn’t bother that the Downtown Line train was mostly empty. He had a question for Mr Shandran, who was wearing an SMRT uniform: Did he drive trains?
When Mr Shandran said he was a bus driver, the queries came flooding in: Which bus service? Is it an old or new bus? What does he feel about it?
Mr Shandran didn’t think Theodore was being a nuisance. The Malaysian has grown fond of buses after driving them for more than 10 years on either side of the Causeway, so he didn’t mind chatting about his job.
“It’s my duty to handle the bus every day, so I was very interested to answer his questions,” he told CNA at the Ang Mo Kio bus depot on a sticky Monday afternoon. “I didn’t feel that he was being irritating. It was so nice of him.”
The conversation soon turned technical. What about the different bus models, engines and emission standards, Theodore asked. Mr Shandran wondered about his inquisitive mind and how he could possibly know so much.
“I doubt that many people will ask about bus engines and all that, so this guy is really good,” he said. “Normally people would ask: ‘Are you a bus captain?’ That’s it.”
Mr Shandran making his way around the depot in Ang Mo Kio. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Theodore’s passion for buses started when he was four years old, his father Ernest Tan, 44, told CNA in an email interview.
The project manager at an engineering firm said his son enjoys surfing bus information websites, watching bus videos on YouTube and playing bus simulator games. He can even memorise bus licence plates.
So it was only natural that Mr Shandran answered all of Theodore’s questions. He showed Theodore photos of the newer buses on his phone when asked. He said the newer buses could go faster, but the older buses were more solid.
The man gestured to make a point, and the boy turned his hip to listen closely. The 15-minute conversation went so well that it didn’t really occur to Mr Shandran that Theodore has special needs.
Mr Tan said Theodore was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum when he was two-and-a-half years old.
Teachers at the Rainbow Centre in Yishun, which conducts practical education for people with disabilities, helped develop his speech and other skills before he started attending primary school at Pathlight.
File photo of special education students from Pathlight School. (Photo: TODAY/Koh Mui Fong)
Pathlight caters to students with autism by giving them mainstream education with trained teachers and smaller classes.
Theodore is taking the Primary School Leaving Examination this year, Mr Tan said. “My son is just like any other growing boy,” he added. “He struggles socially and academically, and is starting to have teenage challenges.”
But Theodore has a bright future, if Mr Shandran’s comments are anything to go by. “I was thinking that this guy has a high IQ,” he said of his conversation with the boy.
The two parted ways after what seemed like a normal chat between bus enthusiasts. However, what happened next was far from normal.
Mr Shandran would have his meals in between trips at canteens like this, surrounded by colleagues. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
When Mr Shandran arrived at Tampines interchange to take the wheel of his usual 969 bus heading to Woodlands, his colleagues started teasing him.
“What did you do with the boy on the train?” they questioned. “Somebody wrote (on social media) that you were trying to kidnap the boy.”
Mr Shandran insisted he was only having a chat. It was then that he saw pictures of their exchange and a long accompanying post uploaded on Facebook.
“Clearly there is a place in our society for people with special needs. These individuals are talented! They can learn quickly, and they can even grasp technical concepts,” Kelvin Ang wrote in his Facebook post.
“This SMRT staff is an amazing human being. He treated the boy kindly, and he made the boy feel comfortable. He did not belittle the boy, and instead, spoke to the boy with patience and respect.”
Mr Shandran said he usually stands on the crowded trains to give way to passengers. It was different the day he met Theodore. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Mr Shandran said he didn’t realise that someone was taking photos of them and listening to their conversation. “It shows that I am more interested in talking to the boy,” he said with a smile.
The post had received more than 27,000 reactions and 12,000 shares as of Monday, with numerous comments expressing appreciation for Mr Shandran. “Nice post in such challenging times,” wrote one commentator.
CHALLENGING TIMES
The heartwarming account of Mr Shandran’s encounter with Theodore came as Singapore faces unprecedented challenges.
The Government has urged people to stay home unless absolutely necessary in the battle against COVID-19, and its circuit breaker measures mean most places are closed anyway.
People who don’t live in the same house, including family members, are encouraged not to meet. For Mr Shandran, whose wife and two children live in Malaysia, it is a double whammy.
Mr Shandran had left them behind after Malaysia announced on Mar 16 that it would stop citizens from leaving the country from Mar 18 to Mar 31 to curb the pandemic. As an essential worker in Singapore, Mr Shandran knew he could not go home.
“When they first decided to lock the country down, I was worried about what would happen and how I was going to see my kids,” he said. “Then I realised it’s for the best, and we just follow whatever they say.”
Mr Shandran was thankful when SMRT said it would put its drivers up in hotels for the duration of the lockdown. It was a welcome respite after he’d been commuting between his home in Johor Bahru and Singapore on his motorcycle every day.
Before driving off from the depot, Mr Shandran would inspect the tires and engine on his bus. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Before the lockdown, a typical day on the morning shift starts when he leaves home at 3am to beat the Causeway jam. He picks up the bus from the depot at 5am, finishes his duty at 2pm, then braves another jam before getting back at 6pm.
For the afternoon shift, he leaves home at 11am. After he’s done with his rounds, he sends the bus back to the depot, refuels it and returns the logbook. By then, it would already be about 2am.
During the first week of his hotel stay, Mr Shandran said he didn’t really miss his children. But on Mar 25, Malaysia said it would extend the lockdown until Apr 14. Then on Friday, it was further extended to Apr 28.
Mr Shandran grew worried. “After three weeks (of lockdown), I thought, what’s going on?” he said. “That’s when I realised I miss the kids. That’s also when I met the boy (on the train).”
MISSING HOME
Mr Shandran admitted that speaking to Theodore helped ease the pain of not seeing his 17-year-old son for about a month now.
After all, he had started working as a bus driver in Singapore four years ago to earn a better salary, so his daughter could study medicine. She’s now 27 and training as a junior doctor in a hospital.
But the job was more than a means to an end. Mr Shandran said it allows him to speak with people from different backgrounds, something that the self-confessed chatterbox loves doing, especially when it comes to his hobbies.
Mr Shandran said he prefers driving buses in Singapore as compared to Malaysia, where many own cars and rarely take the bus. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
He appreciates it when passengers come up to ask how he’s doing. He also takes it on the chin when the comments are not so pleasant.
“Sometimes I get angry,” he said with a laugh. “But we shouldn’t talk back to passengers. You just say: ‘Yes, sorry.’ What to do? This is my job, it’s not easy.”
Still, Mr Shandran feels sad after COVID-19 reduced the normally bustling 969 service, popular with office workers and students, to a lonely bus carrying barely 10 passengers.
“I was thinking what is this,” he lamented, highlighting that he thrives on driving noisy and crowded buses. “I was driving from Tampines to Yishun on a highway, and it almost made me sleepy.”
Jokes aside, Mr Shandran said he hopes Malaysia’s lockdown ends soon so he can see his family again. The hotel stay has been comfortable, but he’s growing tired of doing the laundry by himself and only hearing their voices over the phone every day.
“We wait because it’s for the best,” he stated. “But if you ask me to go home tomorrow, I’ll go.”
KIND WORDS
Until then, Mr Shandran said he’ll continue driving buses feeling that much happier knowing he made Theodore’s day – and afterwards, the days of many others.
“Thank you Mr Shandran, for being so kind and patient with my son and to engage him on his interest,” Mr Tan said, adding that his other interests include fans and 3D modelling.
Mr Shandran would grab at the next opportunity to ride across the Causeway back to his family. (Photo: Try Sutrisno Foo)
Mr Tan advised people to be patient if they meet others with special needs in public, even though they might “spontaneously talk about their favourite topics or behave in ways you might think are socially awkward”.
“There is always a reason for their behaviour,” he added.
Mr Shandran said he didn’t expect his act to go viral, noting that many commentators also praised Theodore and urged more people to engage those with special needs.
“All credit must go to Kelvin (Ang) for showing the world,” he said. “I was very happy going through the comments. They really touched my heart.”
SINGAPORE: An eighth foreign worker dormitory, Cochrane Lodge 2, has been gazetted as an isolation area to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The dormitory in Sembawang was declared an isolation area under the Infectious Diseases Act, according to a notice by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the Government Gazette.
The notice came into effect on Monday (Apr 13).
The premises under isolation at Cochrane Lodge 2 are Blocks A, B, C, D, and E at 49 Admiralty Road West.
On Monday, eight more COVID-19 cases were linked to the cluster at Cochrane Lodge 2, which now has 25 cases.
Cochrane Lodge 2 is the latest dormitory to be declared an isolation area, after Singapore saw a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases linked to dormitories recently.
View of Cochrane Lodge One dormitory. (Screengrab: Google Maps)
On Apr 5, two foreign worker dormitories – S11 Dormitory @ Punggol and Westlite Toh Guan dormitory – were gazetted as isolation areas.
On Monday, 222 new cases were linked to the cluster at the S11 Dormitory @ Punggol, which now has a total of 586 cases.
Eight additional cases were linked to the cluster at Westlite Toh Guan dormitory on Monday, which has a total of 84 confirmed cases.
Toh Guan Dormitory was declared an isolation area on Apr 7. It houses about 4,500 foreign workers. As of Monday, Toh Guan Dormitory has 67 confirmed cases, with 22 new cases linked to the facility.
On Apr 9, two blocks at Sungei Tengah Lodge at Old Choa Chu Kang Road were declared isolation areas. Eight more blocks were added to the notice shortly after.
The dormitory, which has 10 residential blocks and can house up to 25,000 workers, is one of Singapore’s largest workers’ dormitories.
In total, Sungei Tengah Lodge has 157 COVID-19 cases, after 77 more cases were linked to the cluster on Monday.
Worker dormitory Sungei Tengah Lodge at Old Choa Chu Kang Road was declared an isolation area after a spike of COVID-19 cases there.
