SINGAPORE – Singapore began handing out pocket-sized coronavirus contact-tracing devices to residents on Monday, part of a planned nationwide rollout to help the city-state safely reopen its economy.
Like an earlier smartphone app released by the government, the box-shaped tokens use Bluetooth signals to record nearby devices and store encrypted data of a users’ close contacts.
If users test positive for Covid-19, the devices have to be handed over to the authorities to extract the data on other people they have potentially exposed to the virus.
While the government plans universal distribution of the tokens, elderly residents have been prioritised because they are less likely to have smartphones and therefore own the existing app. They are also more vulnerable to the disease.
Authorities say the contact-tracing app has been downloaded by about 40 per cent of residents, although it has encountered problems, especially on Apple devices where its operating system suspends Bluetooth scanning when the app runs in the background.
It is highly unlikely that bats in Singapore are carrying the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, but people who come into contact with one should still take precautions, two experts said.
For example, residents who have bats flying into their homes should look out for any secretions and contamination from the animal and clean them as soon as possible. This is because bats can spread viruses through their faeces.
Professor Wang Linfa , director of the emerging infectious diseases programme at Duke-NUS Medical School, said: “There is no evidence that bats in Singapore are carrying Covid-19 or related viruses.
“Of course, a negative finding does not prove a complete absence. Hence, it is always a good idea to be on the alert, but there is no need for panic.”
Another infectious diseases expert, Dr Leong Hoe Nam, who practises at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, said the possibility of a bat spreading the virus to a human is similar to the odds of striking the lottery. But he also cautioned: “The risk is small but real.”
SINGAPORE – After registering on an app, visitors to Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Jurong campus will no longer have to think about where or how to pay their parking fees.
Even without parking gantries, their car plates are captured upon entry and exit by video technology. The correct fee is then automatically calculated and billed to their credit or debit card, without the need for additional input of information in an app or a CashCard in the in-vehicle unit.
The vision is of a more seamless and hassle-free parking experience than currently offered elsewhere. Launched on Monday (Sept 14), Singapore’s “first barrier-free smart” carpark is now operational at three locations in the university. All 59 of NTU’s carparks, covering more than 4,000 parking spaces, are set to turn “smart” by the end of 2021.
“Smart carparks are integral to the smart cities of the future,” said Mr Ravinder Singh, president of ST Engineering’s electronics arm, which developed the new system.
SINGAPORE: The retail industry may be going through a rough patch due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but American footwear brand Skechers still sees pockets of opportunities and has ramped up its presence in Singapore in recent months.
It opened five new stores in July and August – growing its retail footprint here to 30 brick-and-mortar stores – and expanded two existing ones. It also hired 40 new employees.
These moves come against the backdrop of an industry hit badly by the coronavirus outbreak.
Retail sales posted record slumps in April and May when a “circuit breaker” was imposed, before recovering to smaller declines in June and July as retail activities were allowed to resume. Islandwide vacancy rate for retail space, meanwhile, rose to 9.6 per cent at the end of the second quarter, up from 8 per cent in the first quarter.
“It’s without a doubt (that) in the retail industry, it is quite challenging,” said Skechers vice-president for Southeast Asia Zann Lee told CNA.
“But I always tell my team, we see challenges as opportunities.”
One such opportunity is the availability of “good locations” in shopping malls.
“Many brands are exiting so there are good locations that are available now versus before,” she told CNA in an interview on Thursday (Sep 10).
“At this point in time, the landlords are also reassessing the rental so that’s where we are able to do a further negotiation.”
With mall owners more open to negotiations, rental rates for the company’s new stores have come off by about 20 to 30 per cent compared with pre-pandemic days, according to Ms Lee. The drop mirrors trends in other markets, she added, with store rents down by 40 per cent in China and more than 30 per cent in Thailand.
While three of the newly opened stores were part of plans made well before the pandemic, the remaining two locations were decided following recent negotiations.
“This is a good time for us to actually enter into a market with good locations,” said Ms Lee.
The “athleisure” casual sports clothing market continuing to grow is another reason why Skechers is sticking to its expansion plans.
“We are proud to say that we are one of the market leaders. We are blessed with the products (that are) able to cater to the market needs,” she said.
Ms Lee did not reveal exact figures but said Skechers achieved single-digit sales growth in Singapore on a year-on-year basis for the months of June, July and August. This compares with double-digit sales growth seen earlier in the year.
The company remains “optimistic” about the months ahead and is targeting a single-digit fall in its annual sales this year from 2019.
“The initial projection we were doing in May was a double-digit reduction in sales,” said Ms Lee.
“We are still pretty much optimistic but of course, we need to watch and react to the market sentiment … If we see consumers spending lesser, then we’ll adjust our in-store promotions.”
It is also betting on new product launches, such as an upcoming collaboration with popular Japanese character Hello Kitty, to attract those who want “novelty items”.
Asked if the expansion move could be a risky one given the economic downturn, Ms Lee pointed to how some consumers prefer to make purchases in heartland malls near to their homes.
“Especially during this pandemic, we are able to see sales around suburban areas increasing, versus sales around the Orchard area,” she said.
This is why one of the five new Skechers stores is in Tiong Bahru Plaza. The rest are located in Great World City, Novena Square, Suntec City and Marine Square.
“At the moment we are about 30 stores, which I think is just right for the market,” Ms Lee said.
MANPOWER NEEDS
At the moment, Skechers has about 290 employees in Singapore, with the local office also serving as its Southeast Asian headquarters.
Its new hires – all locals – filled 30 retail positions and 10 in the logistics team. Hiring locals, especially those with experience in the retail industry, has been slightly easier these days, Ms Lee noted.
Skechers vice-president for Southeast Asia Zann Lee. (Photo: Skechers)
“A lot of brands are exiting … so we are able to tap on people with expertise and offer them another position.”
At the moment, Skechers has Employment Pass holders in some of the managerial roles at its retail stores, as well as management trainee positions. It also hires work permit holders as retail assistants.
Still, the local retail industry continues to face hiring issues. Even among the recent new hires, about one-fifth changed their minds soon after joining Skechers as they could not get used to the demands of working in a consumer retail store. The company was able to find replacements fairly quickly due to the bigger pool of jobseekers at the moment, said Ms Lee.
Ms Lee also noted that the company is not affected by the recent changes in foreign worker policies but has some concerns about the longer run.
“It will be a concern if they continue to increase the (salary) criteria for the different passes,” she said.
E-COMMERCE
Meanwhile, Skechers is also working on adding e-commerce functions to its local website, as part of meeting the needs of consumers who prefer the convenience of shopping online.
Work for its own e-commerce site has been under way since last year but the pandemic and its disruptions prompted the company to expedite the process, said Ms Lee.
Asked if the company is concerned that it may be a little late to the e-commerce game, Ms Lee said she does not think so given how Skechers has an online presence currently via online marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee.
“I think customers still appreciate the social and sensory aspects of shopping offline in our brick-and-mortar stores. They would prefer to get advice face-to-face from our associates.
“But at the same time, consumers also want to shop online at their convenience so … we see e-commerce as complementing our brick-and-mortar stores,” she said.
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SINGAPORE: Waterway Point and West Mall have been added to the list of public places visited by COVID-19 community cases during their infectious period, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Monday (Sep 14).
Burger joint Shake Shack at Liat Towers and a 4Fingers Crispy Chicken outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 3 were also added to the list, along with Anytime Fitness at Queensway Shopping Centre, which was listed four times on separate days.
The new locations are as follows:
Those who have been identified as close contacts of confirmed cases would already have been notified by MOH.
As a precautionary measure, people who were at those locations during the specified timings should monitor their health closely for 14 days from their date of visit, said MOH.
“They should see a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of acute respiratory infection (such as cough, sore throat and runny nose), as well as fever and loss of taste or smell, and inform the doctor of their exposure history,” it added.
The ministry said there is no need for people to avoid places that have been visited by COVID-19 cases, and that the National Environment Agency will engage the management of the affected premises to provide guidance on cleaning and disinfection.
We’re not out of the woods, yet people continue to congregate at some public spaces during the ongoing pandemic.
This time around, a crowd was spotted at Paya Lebar Square on Sunday (Sept 13).
A video clip circulating on Facebook showed a throng of people standing at the area in between the train station and the shopping mall.
Although they were wearing face masks, the shoppers did not keep a one-metre distance from each other.
After watching the clip, some netizens were quick to criticise the behaviour, stating that people are getting careless about following Covid-19 regulations nowadays.
But others suggested that people had gathered there to seek shelter from the rain.
One netizen took the lack of social distancing in stride, reasoning that practising good hygiene such as wearing a face mask, washing or sanitising hands while outside is sufficient to protect a person against the coronavirus.
As the son of famous Taiwanese singer Bao Nana, one might expect Dave Fu to follow in his mother’s footsteps.
He even admitted that it was hard to live in her shadow.
“It’s like I know she’s famous but I didn’t realise she was that famous, so it didn’t really affect me that much growing up,” he told AsiaOne in an email interview.
“However, as I got older, I realised more and more about her achievements and even more so after I moved to Taipei. In some ways, it was definitely not easy living under her shadow.”
Well, the 35-year-old, who is based in Singapore, tried. He participated in a few Taiwanese singing competitions in 2007 and 2008, going as far as to release an EP (extended play) out in 2011. Alas, he stopped pursuing his music career that same year.
He confessed: “I had a contractual dispute with my agent, which resulted in me being unable to properly pursue my music career. It was a very painful period for me but it also taught me that we have to really choose the right partners to work with in anything we do.”
The police arrested a 56-year-old man after he beat a 67-year-old man to death after a fight on Sunday (Sept 13) along Block 6 Beach Road.
Several videos shared on Facebook showed the aftermath of the incident.
In one of them, paramedics from Singapore Civil Defence Force were seen performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim, while a man in black restrained by police officers stood a short distance away.
Speaking with Lianhe Wanbao, an employee at a nearby grocery store said that the entire incident was recorded by their CCTV, and the footage was taken by the police as evidence.
According to the employee, who had seen the footage, the perpetrator straddled the elderly man who had fallen onto the ground and punched him in the face repeatedly.
“The scene was really bloody. The crazed man kept pummelling him, even his hands were covered in blood. He tried to escape afterwards, but the police had already caught wind of the attack and arrested him on the spot.”
The dating game can be a minefield, so much so that some prefer to entrust their quest for love to professional matchmakers.
Alas, it turns out that even seasoned professionals can’t conjure up a prince charming.
A 49-year-old woman who said she asked local dating agency Lunch Actually for a good-looking match resembling her ideal type is claiming that they misled her and set up with an “uncle” 10 years her senior as part of a three-date package.
However, Lunch Actually founder Violet Lim said the woman’s account was riddled with false allegations. Despite the company’s efforts to follow up with the woman and resolve the matter amicably, she has “refused to speak” with them, Lim told AsiaOne today (Sept 14).
The woman’s allegations first surfaced on Friday (Sept 11) on website All Singapore Stuff.
Identified as Ms M, the woman claimed she had paid Lunch Actually $2,939.40 for a three-date package with the added benefit of “choosing the type of look” of her matches.
