Exchange in SUTD: Exchange in SUTD Week 9: COVID-19

Concerning the situation of COVID-19, it has been deteriorating since the beginning of the term. We were so lucky that we came back from Cebu on March 14th since Philippines government announced Manila would go on lockdown for one month from March 15th. The situation only gets worse. Before we went to Philippines, there were only 3 cases. However, after we came back, there were more than three hundred cases.

Here, I want to talk about the policies and measures carried out by the Singapore government. Starting from mid-March, the Singapore government have announced that everyone has to practice "social distancing" in malls and supermarkets. Meaning that people should keep at least 1 meter away from others. After the government announced the policy, I was so shocked that all places implement it right away. As time goes by, the social distancing policy has become more and more strict. On March 27th, the Singapore government announced that people who do not observe the physical distancing in non-transient interactions can be fined up to SGD10,000 (NTD223,000) or jailed up to six months. The penalties are insane.

As for the measures implemented by SUTD, after the government announced that all classes being conducted online, all local students were forced to move out the hostel by April 8th. Moreover, apart from the canteen, the school was completely shut down.

When I'm writing this post, the latest policies in Singapore are as below:

Most workplaces are closed, and learning for schools is moved to full home-based
Safe distancing measures are also implemented on public transport networks
F&B outlets will remain open but only takeaway
non-essential services, resorts will be temporarily closed

The measures implemented by the Singapore government are somewhat depriving citizens' right. However, it is really a hard time for everyone, and the government is trying its best to protect us. I hope we can overcome the harsh situation as soon as possible.