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SINGAPORE — The Government has urged the public to stay at home and cut non-essential trips to malls to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  

This came after long queues formed at some malls across the island following the implementation of safe-distancing measures to regulate crowds.

“Stay home. Buy food and groceries online. Only head to a mall for essentials, like food,” the Government said in an advisory on Saturday (March 28) morning via its Gov.sg WhatsApp platform, adding that the public should keep at least 1m apart from others and also expect queues, especially during peak hours.

“Reducing physical interactions is critical to curb local transmission. Please take safe distancing seriously to protect yourself and others around you,” it added.

The message, which also advises foreign workers and foreign domestic workers to remain at their residence on their rest days and avoid gathering at public spaces or visiting crowded spaces, comes after Singapore reported 49 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, bringing the total number here to 732.

To limit the spread of Covid-19, the Government had on March 20 announced stricter safe-distancing rules asking malls to limit the number of shoppers on their premises.

In a joint statement issued along with a list of frequently asked questions on Thursday, the Singapore Tourism Board, Enterprise Singapore, the Housing and Development Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority said that the measures will run until April 30.

They include reducing the number of entrances, deploying employees to control visitors entering and leaving the premises and issuing tickets to visitors to ensure that the numbers do not exceed the mall’s allowable capacity.

This can be computed using the approved gross floor area of a shopping centre’s retail component, based on one person for 16 sqm.

Malls must also make sure that there is at least 1m spacing between persons standing in queues, including those outside the premises. The reduction of the number of entrances “should not lead to a congregation of visitors outside the mall”.