Takeaway from Stroke Heng's ministerial speech this afternoon:

Robertson Quay is thronging with AMDKs on day 2 of Phase 2:

Mad Sinkie crowds spotted everywhere on day 1 of Phase 2!!!!!!

Anyways Fitness First isn't opening tomorrow, sigh.

PHASE 2 LAI LIAO!!!!!!!!

Was Ah Loong's CB implementation a failure?

Will all hawker centres look like this in the post-coronavirus period?

As Singapore hits 30,000 coronavirus cases, circuit breaker takes its toll on residents

Jeffrey Tan, the owner of a dance studio in downtown Singapore, estimates he has lost five figures in earnings since he stopped holding classes at the end of March, as the city state stepped up social distancing before a partial lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Like many business owners, Tan had been eagerly awaiting news on when Singapore, which is approaching its eighth week of the so-called circuit breaker this weekend, would fully reopen its economy.

But an announcement earlier this week of a three-phase reopening from June 2 – with dance studios and fitness facilities likely to begin operating only in the last phase – left him feeling despondent.

“We have no idea when we can resume teaching. If we can’t teach, we can’t make money, we can’t pay rent,” he said, adding that his monthly rent stood at S$15,000 (US$10,500). “Our studio will face a financial crisis after six months. There is no way we [can make] enough money for rental, not forgetting our other expenses such as staffing.”

Tan hopes the government will do more to help struggling businesses, even as officials have tapped into the country’s deep sovereign reserves for a S$63 billion stimulus package comprising measures including cash handouts and wage subsidies.

Finance minister Heng Swee Keat is slated to deliver an unprecedented fourth budget on Tuesday to help some trades that will remain closed in June. But as the city state crossed 30,000 infections on Friday, Singapore residents are feeling the fatigue of being cooped up at home and the uncertainty for the future is beginning to bite.

The country’s trade ministry is expecting a contraction of its bellwether economy this year, downgrading its full-year growth forecast twice, to a range of -4 per cent to -1 per cent. Economists have predicted that full-year lay-offs in the country of 5.6 million could reach 150,000 to 200,000.

‘EVERYONE IS TIRED’

In a weekly online survey by independent pollster Blackbox Research, slightly more than half of the 500 respondents between May 12 and 16 indicated they felt more uncertain about the current climate, up from 44 per cent in the previous week. About 45 per cent of them were frustrated, and 41 per cent of them felt anxious. Some 54 per cent also said they were earning less during the pandemic.

But the poll also found that 84 per cent of them felt the government was moving in the “right track” –the highest rating in about two months.

Wang, an advertising professional in his late-20s, said working from home had raised his stress levels.

“There is an added pressure to attend to work requests and emails regardless of the time of the day,” he said.

“This compared to having an office where despite long working hours, you know that you’ll be done for the day once you step out of it.”

Experts have pointed to the lockdown negatively impacting mental health – anecdotally, there has been a rise in calls to helplines and an increase in family violence, skirmishes between members of the public over violations of safe-distancing measures and online shaming of those who flout lockdown rules.

Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases doctor, said the fatigue that Singaporeans were feeling was expected, and that people wanted “immediate results with excellent outcomes”, but that would not happen.

“Everyone is tired – but let up, and we will have the infection numbers rise again, and the economy will once again be at risk,” he said.

A lot more at https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3085522/singapore-nears-30000-coronavirus-cases-circuit

Survey: 42% of Restaurants in S’pore Cannot Last for Another Month of ‘Circuit Breaker’

Before 19 May when people thought that the Circuit Breaker is ending on 2 June 2020:

When all this is over, I’m going to find a really nice restaurant and celebrate. No more home-cooked food or sub optimal takeaway food. Let’s go somewhere and really enjoy seriously awesome fare.

Quite sorry to burst your bubble, but almost half of the restaurants you’re thinking of patronizing might not make it past June.

Because as you probably already know, Singapore is moving into Phase One post Circuit Breaker, and dine-in is still not allowed – so you can call it a PCB (Phase-One Circuit Breaker lah; what were you thinking?).

And restaurants are bawling.

Survey by Chope: Deliveries and Takeaways Not Helping

The surge in FoodPanda deliveries and people making a beeline for McDonald‘s might have given you the impression that the local F&B industry is doing just fine, but the truth couldn’t be further from that.

Chope surveyed 150 dining establishments after the circuit breaker period started, and found that 42% wouldn’t be able to operate beyond two months on account of present operating costs and revenues.

FYI, takings at the till have plunged to near rock bottom for majority during the CCB period (Continuous Circuit Breaker – what were you thinking again?).

81% can’t last beyond six months.

What about deliveries?! They must have been doing something, right?

Newsflash: 62% of restaurants that continued to offer takeaways and deliveries saw revenue fall by 50% or more compared to the same period last year. 42% of restaurants only commenced delivery services for the very first time during this coronavirus pandemic.

But how much did that actually help?

88% of restaurants who had all along offered delivery and takeaway options even before COVID-19 came along reckoned these only contributed to less than 10% of their overall revenue.

Retrenchment, Pay Cuts and Compulsory Leave

You may wish to hold your breath because things only get even worse from this point onward.

11% of the restaurants have already retrenched staff and another 25% are contemplating shelving plans for additional hires if the current situation doesn’t improve.

42% have since implemented pay cuts. Another survey conducted back in March showed that 80% were already reducing casual labour hours and 1/3 were putting full-time staff on compulsory leave.

To make things even worse, 13% haven’t received rental waivers from landlords, which are equivalent to the amount of property tax rebates dished out by the government.

A lot more at https://goodyfeed.com/restaurants-cannot-last/

Looks like Kee Chiu has become bui kia.

It appears gyms, retail outlets and tuition centres will only be allowed to resume business in phase 2, if everything happens according to plan that is.

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/covid-19-circuit-breaker-be-eased-after-june-1-three-phases-ending-new-normal

PHASE TWO

If community transmission rates remain “low and stable” and the situation at foreign worker dormitories remains under control during the first phase, then Singapore can move on to the second phase:

• The gradual resumption of more activities such as social activities in small groups

• Dine-in options at food-and-beverage establishments

• Reopening of retail outlets, gyms and fitness studios, as well as tuition and enrichment centres

• Reopening of sports, recreation and outdoor facilities

Circuit breaker measures to ease on 1 June if cases stay low

The government is keen to roll back more circuit breaker measures by 1 June to restore economic and social activities if the number of new cases and infection in Singapore continues to remain low, according to the Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong in a press conference.

The circuit breaker measures were noted to have been able to reduce infections in the community, with the number of new cases daily falling from 30 in mid-April to eight in the past week. Daily cases amongst migrant workers in dormitories have eased from over 1,000 in late April to about 700 in the recent week.

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce has drawn up a plan to allow migrant workers in dormitories to be cleared, so that they can return to work safely and free of infection as the measures are lifted. These are expected to involve a differentiated approach and a combination of assessment tests and isolation processes.

However, other measures will remain, such as social distancing and safe management in workplaces.

"As we gradually lift the circuit breaker measures, there is a risk that the community cases may rise again. This has been the experience of many countries which have seen a second wave of infections after relaxing their social distancing measures," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-sg/money/topstories/circuit-breaker-measures-to-ease-on-1-june-if-cases-stay-low/ar-BB140b2K

Folks get charged for leaving their houses without a valid reason!

https://www.8world.com/news/singapore/article/four-charged-for-covid-related-offences-including-leaving-house-without-valid-reason-1116061

Another motherfucking PAP monkey Yi Shyan Lee caught doing a walkabout at Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre!

https://www.facebook.com/220046891494277/posts/1623810784451207/?d=n