SINGAPORE: Singapore gaming company Razer announced plans on Wednesday (Apr 1) to set up an automated face mask manufacturing line within 30 days to produce “a couple of million certified masks” each month.
Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang announced the plans on his Facebook page at about 9am, calling on Singaporeans or Singapore companies to buy the first US$50,000 worth of masks off the line.
He made another post four hours later, saying three companies – Frasers Property, JustCo and PBA Group – had agreed to each commit US$50,000 to purchase masks.
“It’s pretty awesome to see fellow Singaporeans stepping forth to support our efforts,” wrote Mr Tan.
“Now I just need to go figure out how to get the line up,” he added.
In a separate press statement released by Razer on Wednesday, the company said that it had initially converted existing product manufacturing lines in China to make and donate masks for immediate relief, with initial shipments going out earlier this week.
An initial shipment of masks by Razer. (Photo: Razer/LinkedIn)
However, the company had been “inundated by requests due to an extreme shortage of face masks and PPEs”, particularly in Southeast Asia, and decided to set up a line in Singapore.
“Many of the face masks in the market are not properly manufactured, do not meet certification standards and offer little or no protection to the users,” said Razer in its release.
The company said that its masks will be “certified to Singapore and international standards” and used to supply both the local and regional market.
SINGAPORE: NTUC FairPrice Finest at Bedok Mall will be closed for three days starting from Wednesday (Apr 1), after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The employee has been quarantined and is being monitored by medical personnel.
All employees who work in the Bedok Mall oulet have been put on leave of absence, said NTUC FairPrice in a media release.
“The affected staff works in the backend replenishing stock and has minimal contact with customers,” said NTUC FairPrice.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the supermarket has stepped up cleaning regimes, especially for high touch surfaces like railings, trolleys, baskets, checkout counters every four hours, said FairPrice.
All staff members and suppliers have their temperature taken at least twice a day and hand sanitisers have been made available for customers to use, it added.
A photo circulating online of a closed NTUC Finest store at Bedok Mall.
Customers are also encouraged to maintain safe distancing, with floor markings at checkout queues, posters and announcements put in place to remind customers to do so.
During the temporary closure, customers have been advised to visit the nearest FairPrice store in the vicinity at Block 212 Bedok North Street 1.
SINGAPORE: The electricity tariff will fall by 5.1 per cent for the period from Apr 1 to Jun 30 due to lower energy costs, said SP Group on Tuesday (Mar 31).
Households will see a drop in the tariff from 24.24 cents to 23.02 cents per kilowatt hour, said SP Group in a media release.
Families living in four-room HDB flats can expect their average monthly bill to go down by S$3.89.
The move is “in the same spirit” with the Government’s recently unveiled Resilience Budget, which is aimed at supporting businesses and managing costs, said SP Group.
“SP Group will do its part to defer increasing its network cost to transport electricity through the power grid for one year,” it added.
SP Group reviews the electricity tariffs quarterly based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority, the electricity industry regulator.
City Gas said on Tuesday that gas tariffs for households will decrease by 0.7 per cent or 0.12 cents per kilowatt hour from Apr 1 to Jun 30.
SINGAPORE: The World Gourmet Summit, known for its myriad of dining events featuring culinary stars from around the world, will be postponed for the first time since it started 24 years ago.
Usually held in April, the annual gastronomy festival has been pushed back to August because of the COVID-19 situation.
“At the moment, we are looking at August. It could potentially even be September because we do not know what the future holds,” said its founder Peter Knipp in an interview with reporters on Tuesday (Mar 31).
The ramp-up in measures taken by Singapore to curb the spread of COVID-19, which include safe distancing rules in restaurants, limiting events to no more than 10 people and travel restrictions for foreign visitors, have made the postponement “a no-brainer”, he added.
“This is the first time we have to take such steps and trust me, it’s a painful one. During SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), we never gave up; during the (global) financial crisis, we never gave up too. But COVID-19 is a completely different ball game,” he said.
Mr Knipp, whose company Peter Knipp Holdings also runs a food and beverage (F&B) consultancy, said the industry has been hit hard as tourists stay away and locals avoid public places.
Two months since the outbreak started in Singapore, restaurateurs have seen a drastic drop of as much as 80 per cent in customers, he added.
As a result, one of the World Gourmet Summit’s partner restaurant has closed down recently, said Mr Knipp. He has also heard of others in the industry that had to let go of their employees.
“We see layoffs. We see companies that really try to keep people but they just can’t. Financially, it’s impossible,” he said.
“Despite Singapore not being completely locked down, people are fearful. They still go out but not to the same extent, so if revenues drop anywhere between 60 per cent to 80 per cent, how do you survive?” Mr Knipp added, noting that the number of restaurant closures and lay-offs will likely increase as the COVID-19 outbreak continues.
“Not everyone has a big owner (or) unlimited cash flow. The small independent operators will be the ones to go first.”
A study released on Monday by restaurant booking platform Chope showed a similarly grim scenario.
Out of the 174 F&B business owners surveyed earlier this month, 93 per cent said they have seen a decline in revenue, alongside a more than 53 per cent drop in the number of reservations, the study showed.
To cut costs, 80 per cent of those polled said they are reducing staff to cut costs and a third have imposed compulsory leave for full-time employees.
Nearly four in five businesses said they are not prepared to last longer than six months if things do not get better, according to the study by Chope.
Restaurateur Ricky Ng said the outbreak has reduced business at his two restaurants by up to 70 per cent.
For his Blue Lotus Chinese Eating House at Sentosa, the impact was almost immediate following the confirmation of Singapore’s first infection on Jan 23 as the patient had stayed at a hotel on the resort island.
The announcement of free entry into Sentosa on Mar 11 brought about temporary reprieve, but business has since taken another hit with the roll-out of stricter safe distancing rules and the recent increase in confirmed cases, he told CNA.
Over at his other restaurant along Alexandra Road, it has been “near empty” for the past two weeks as more companies in the area began implementing work-from-home policies.
CALL FOR CHANGE IN RENT STRUCTURE
To aid struggling F&B businesses, relief measures were announced by the Government as part of its stimulus packages.
As part of the record S$48 billion Resilience Budget, F&B businesses will get a 50 per cent wage offset for local employees, up from the initial 8 per cent first announced in February’s Budget.
The monthly qualifying wage ceiling will also be raised from S$3,600 to S$4,600.
This is part of the enhanced Jobs Support Scheme, which will be extended for another two quarters until the end of this year. Employers will receive three tranches of payouts in May, July and October.
But apart from that, rent – another huge cost component for any F&B business – remains a lingering issue.
Calling for landlords to take the “initiative”, Mr Knipp said: “I just came from one restaurant where the landlord said free parking has been given – how is that going to help the restaurant to survive?
“I know of two or three other instances where the landlords wanted to increase rent. There’s no solidarity.”
The Restaurant Association of Singapore (RAS) has also voiced its disappointment with landlords here, criticising them as “dragging their feet” in translating property tax rebates given by the Government into actual rental reductions for smaller tenants.
“We continue to be concerned about rental savings for our F&B business even with the increased property tax rebate measure announced,” it said in a Facebook post last Friday.
“We hope that landlords will respond to the new measures with urgency given that F&B operators experienced a long and protracted wait for the benefits to be given to them after the Unity Budget was announced some five weeks ago.”
RAS president Vincent Tan said the association will continue negotiations with landlords, in which it has requested for rent to be based on gross turnover alone for the next six months.
This is a call that has been echoed by other business groups, such as the Singapore Retailers Association, given that most rental agreements here are made up of a fixed-base rent with a small component based on a tenant’s variable gross turnover.
A rental payment structure that is based on gross turnover will be “fair”, especially in times of drastic revenue declines amid stricter safe distancing rules, industry players have said.
“The last thing we want to do is to fire our staff so we need landlord assistance to prolong our business,” said Mr Ng.
Safe distancing measures in place at a restaurant in Chinatown Point on Thursday (March 26) (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Mr Ng added that he has been given rental reductions for his restaurant at Alexandra Road. But he declined to reveal details and would only say that the reductions will help to sustain his business.
To tide through the crisis, Blue Lotus Group has taken steps such as encouraging employees to clear their annual leave for now and possibly take unpaid leave in April and May.
Bento sets have also been added to the restaurant’s menu so as to cater to increasing demand for takeaways. Since February, the restaurant has seen a 30 per cent to 40 per cent jump in delivery orders.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 outbreak has stalled Mr Ng’s plans to venture overseas.
His plans to open a restaurant in Australia next month, as well as another in London about three months later, will have to be shelved for at least half a year as the coronavirus continues to spread around the world.
But he said he will be making use of the downturn to re-think business strategies and has pushed on with a rebranding of his restaurant at Alexandra Road.
“This rebranding is part of our overseas strategy,” he told CNA during a soft launch of the OPIO Kitchen & Bar on Tuesday.
“We have been looking at what we have not done well and try to re-strategise so that when the recovery comes, we can ride on.”
SINGAPORE: Gas tariffs for households will decrease by 0.7 per cent or 0.12 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from Apr 1 to Jun 30 this year, City Gas said on Tuesday (Mar 31).
With the revision, households will need to pay 17.11 cents per kWh, excluding Goods and Services Tax. Households are currently paying 17.23 cents per kWh.
The lower tariffs are due to the decrease in non-fuel costs compared with the previous quarter, City Gas said.
City Gas reviews the gas tariffs based on the guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), which has approved the revisions for the three-month period.
SINGAPORE: As consumers turn to online shopping following the COVID-19 outbreak, many are finding it difficult to secure the delivery of groceries and other daily essentials through online supermarket platforms.
One shopper, Ms Tasha Abdul Mutalib, said that for more than a week, she has been unable to get a time slot to have her groceries delivered, despite checking platforms such as RedMart and FairPrice Online multiple times a day.
“I have not been successful since last week, despite stock apparently moving and slots being taken up, no idea when they are made available or when new slots are put up,” said the 31-year-old, who is currently unemployed.
Another shopper, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Chee, said she usually orders her groceries online fortnightly on Thursdays, with her items being delivered two to four days later.
However, when Singapore raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Orange in early February, it took about one-and-a-half weeks before she was only able to secure delivery slots.
“It took about two to three weeks before the delivery slots became normal,” the 39-year-old recalled.
“Since the announcement on Mar 24 of enhanced distancing measures, the delivery slots from RedMart and FairPrice have been cut off completely.”
Checks by CNA on RedMart and FairPrice’s online platform on Tuesday morning (Mar 31) found no available delivery slots. It was a similar situation over the past week, at various times of the day.
A screenshot of the RedMart website on Mar 31, 2020 shows full delivery slots for Apr 1 to Apr 3.
Screenshot of the FairPrice On website with no delivery slots available.
Users of other delivery services said they are also facing problems securing their orders.
Ms Nadiah Said said her attempts to buy items such as fresh produce, toiletries and detergent through Amazon Prime were unsuccessful.
“My husband went to the supermarket to get some of the things we needed. My mum also helped to get us some things which were unavailable in the supermarket from the wet market,” said the 37-year-old stay-at-home mother of four.
Some expressed frustration at the situation, especially since the Government on Saturday advised against “non-essential” trips to shopping malls, and to opt to buy food and groceries online as part of safe distancing measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“Buying online has always been easy, but I’ve noticed that those who take advisories seriously still have to compete with panic buyers for the cheaper brands of essentials like bread, rice and eggs because these orders are fulfilled off the shelf instead of set aside,” said Ms Tasha.
“I have not hoarded supplies, but have chosen to buy what I need,” said Mrs Chee. “When it’s time for my next groceries stock up, will there still be online delivery?”
Online platforms have said they are trying to increase their capabilities to meet increasing demand during this time.
“Due to increase in demand, delivery times may be longer than usual. We are working around the clock to ensure availability of products, and continuing to bring on additional capacity to deliver customer orders,” said an Amazon spokesperson.
A spokesperson for Lazada, which owns RedMart, said the company is working hard to increase its capacity to fulfill orders, adding that it is looking for companies which can support its efforts during this time.
“As precautionary measures, we have implemented purchase limits on specific product categories and are making changes to our assortment to ensure that there are enough daily essentials for our customers,” she added.
Foodpanda, which delivers both food and groceries, noted that it has a proprietary dispatch algorithm which it uses to meet surges in demand, adding that it is “constantly” looking to add to its fleet of 8,000 riders.
CNA has also contacted FairPrice and Dairy Farm Group, the parent company of supermarket chains Cold Storage and Giant, for comment.
TAXI, PRIVATE-HIRE DRIVERS TO BE ALLOWED TO MAKE DELIVERIES
On Sunday, Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan announced that taxi and private-hire car drivers would be allowed to make grocery and food deliveries, noting the higher demand due to “tighter safe distancing measures, working from home and telecommuting” amid the COVID-19 crisis.
While there were previously concerns about allowing such services due to the impact on passenger service and traffic congestion, Mr Khaw noted that this is “an unusual time” with less demand for point-to-point transport services.
Some taxi and private-hire car drivers have reported that their incomes have dropped by more than 30 per cent following reduced demand due to the coronavirus outbreak.
File picture of taxis in Singapore. (Photo: TODAY)
In response to queries from CNA, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it is working out the details of the scheme with interested operators.
“Drivers who are interested to participate in the trial can find out more details from their respective companies,” said an LTA spokesperson. “The operators can work with the various companies to explore suitable collaborations as it is commercial in nature.”
“In difficult times like these, any additional job which our cabbies can take is welcome,” said Ms Tammy Tan, group chief corporate communications officer for taxi operator ComfortDelGro.
Gojek Singapore general manager Lien Choong Luen said: “We are exploring what the best approach to this might look like, which could include a partnership model. We will continue to work with the Singapore government to find new ways to support our driver-partners during this period.”
Grab – which since last September has been conducting a trial with LTA to allow its drivers to provide on-demand parcel and food delivery services – said “thousands” of its drivers, making up 15 per cent of its total pool, would now be able to make deliveries.
National Trades Union Congress assistant director-general Ang Hin Kee – who is advisor to both the taxi and private-hire vehicle associations – hopes this would establish “new norms” that would allow such drivers, who are considered to be self-employed, to tap multiple streams of revenue to supplement their income in the future.
Consumers, meanwhile, are optimistic that roping in private-hire and taxi drivers to do deliveries will help reduce waiting times.
“Hopefully! That would be really helpful,” said Ms Nadiah.
SINGAPORE: A 58-year-old ComfortDelGro taxi driver has died after his vehicle caught fire early Tuesday morning (Mar 31).
The police said they were alerted to the incident along Seletar West Link at about 1.30am on Tuesday and found the driver unresponsive at the scene.
The cabby was found outside his taxi and sustained burn injuries, said Ms Tammy Tan, group chief corporate communications officer for ComfortDelGro.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic.
The fire was extinguished by firefighters using two water jets and the cause of the fire is under investigation, SCDF said. Police investigations are also ongoing.
Emergency responders at the scene after a taxi caught fire on Mar 31, 2020. (Photo: Facebook / SG Road Vigilante – SGRV)
Ms Tan said the company was “shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden demise of our cabby”.
“We are currently assisting his next-of-kin during this incredibly difficult time,” she said in response to CNA’s queries. “Very little is known about the incident at this time and the exact cause of the fire is still unknown.”
The man’s vehicle is three-and-a-half years old, she said, adding that no major issues were detected when it was last serviced on Mar 19.
Photos of the incident showed the taxi on fire at the side of the road, with a person lying on the ground next to it.
ComfortDelGro is assisting SCDF with their investigations, Ms Tan said.
MyRepublic has a new SIM-only plan for customers that comes with 7GB of data, 1,000 minutes of talk time, and 1,000 free incoming calls, that costs $18 a month.
Dubbed the Value plan, after the 7GB of data is fully utilised, subscribers still have access to data but speeds will be throttled under fair usage policy guidelines. They will not be charged for excess data use.
According to MyRepublic, after the 7GB of data is exhausted, users will see their data speeds throttled to between 384Kbps to 1.2Mbps until the data allowance refreshes the next billing cycle.
If you need full LTE speeds, additional data can be purchased through the telco as a one-off or monthly add-on.
For users who need more data, the Power mobile plan launched in November last year offers users 20GB of data per month for $24.
For more information, head over to our forum thread on this topic that comes with our members’ inputs.
Getting their hands on a coveted thermometer may be enough for some to be feverish with excitement but a woman in Singapore was left boiling after the thermometer she bought appeared to be less than new.
Home goods chain Japan Home said on March 30 that it has launched an internal investigation after a customer claimed that she was sold a “used” thermometer with someone else’s name written on it.
She also included several photographs which showed a digital thermometer with a name written on its back, as well as scribblings which appeared to say “3J” and “33”.
Visions of a strange office. Dreams in an unfamiliar language. Breathing through a tube.
It was a nightmare that he had just woken from – except he was fighting for his life.
For several days, Case 119 was sedated and hallucinating, until he finally won his battle against the coronavirus.
The 55-year-old, who had no travel history to any affected country and wishes to be known only as Ben, spent 13 days in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Alexandra Hospital (AH).
Doctors say that 80 per cent of the patients infected by the coronavirus suffer only mild symptoms. Only 5 per cent of the cases turn out to be as severe as Ben’s, who literally had to fight for his life.
He was so touched by the treatment he received that he returned to the hospital last Friday to thank the staff. Here is an account of his struggle.
Feb 27 to March 1
It began innocuously enough with a fever of 37.2 deg C and a visit to a general practitioner on Feb 27. On Feb 29, when he visited the GP again, it had risen to 38 deg C. He had no other symptoms.
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