SINGAPORE: The last few days have seen snaking queues, frenzied shopping and panic buying at supermarkets and shops across the island as Singaporeans stocked up amid the coronavirus outbreak.
But on Sunday (Feb 9), some shopkeepers and residents told ministers that a "sense of normalcy" has returned at the counter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMinister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee spoke to the media after a community walkabout at Jurong West.
They visited Jurong West 505 Market and Food Centre, and the shops and eateries to gather feedback from patrons and stallholders, particularly on the situation of panic buying.
There have been multiple reports of people stocking up on groceries and personal hygiene items since the Singapore government raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Orange over the global coronavirus outbreak on Friday.
Government authorities, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and supermarkets came out to assure the public that Singapore had ample stockpile of essentials.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Desmond Lee said that residents told him that they have since felt assured there is enough stock of household essentials. Shopowners and supermarket representative have also told him they are able to meet demand.
“Major suppliers like NTUC Fairprice and Sheng Siong, they have doubled, if not tripled the number of supply runs that they're doing,” said Mr Chan.
“So today, you can see that actually most of the essential items are back on the shelves.”
[h=3]READ: ‘Buy what you need, no need to create your own stockpile’: FairPrice Group CEO[/h][h=3]READ: FairPrice imposes purchase limits for paper products, rice and instant noodles amid coronavirus outbreak[/h]From Sunday, Fairprice also implemented limits on paper products, rice and instant noodles for customers.
In a notice put up in stores across Singapore on Sunday morning, FairPrice said the purchase limits were put in place “to ensure more customers have access to high demand items”.
The S$50 limit for vegetables also remained in place.
Ministers Chan Chun Sing, Desmond Lee and Tharman Shanmugaratnam during a community walkabout at Jurong West on Sunday Feb 9, 2020. (Photo Rachel Phua)
IMPORTANT TO REMAIN CALM: CHAN CHUN SING
Mr Chan reiterated Singapore’s four-pronged stockpile strategy, which includes having sufficient reserve of food items that can “last us quite some time in an emergency”, diversifying food sources, having local production capabilities, and working with regional partners to secure supply lines.
He also said that it is important for residents to remain calm at this juncture.
Singaporeans must take care of the vulnerable and not just themselves, he said.
As of Saturday evening, Singapore had seven new cases of novel coronavirus, taking the country's tally to 40.
Globally, more than 37,000 have been infected and at least 800 have been killed by the coronavirus outbreak, surpassing the death toll of the the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.
[h=3]READ: PM Lee urges Singapore to take courage amid coronavirus outbreak, see through stressful time together[/h]“If in a crisis all of us only care for ourselves, and it's only the strong taking care of themselves, then I think it will be a bad testimony to the kind of society that we want,” Mr Chan said.
On bad behaviour spotted among some shoppers, he said that it “undermine(s) our reputation in the international community” as other countries are looking at how Singapore is responding to the situation.
“If we don't do this collectively, we undermine the international confidence in our system, in our society, and that will have long term implications,” he said.
One of the priorities right now is to make sure that the vulnerable and the old are able to meet their needs, particularly on securing medical supplies, Mr Chan said, sharing an example of diabetic patients who are not able to purchase alcohol swabs for their insulin jabs.
Giving an update on the collection of masks, Mr Lee said that nationwide, about 54 per cent of households have collected theirs so far. Remaining stock after the end-February collection deadline will be given to vulnerable communities.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...
But on Sunday (Feb 9), some shopkeepers and residents told ministers that a "sense of normalcy" has returned at the counter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMinister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee spoke to the media after a community walkabout at Jurong West.
They visited Jurong West 505 Market and Food Centre, and the shops and eateries to gather feedback from patrons and stallholders, particularly on the situation of panic buying.
There have been multiple reports of people stocking up on groceries and personal hygiene items since the Singapore government raised its Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) level to Orange over the global coronavirus outbreak on Friday.
Government authorities, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and supermarkets came out to assure the public that Singapore had ample stockpile of essentials.
AdvertisementAdvertisementMr Desmond Lee said that residents told him that they have since felt assured there is enough stock of household essentials. Shopowners and supermarket representative have also told him they are able to meet demand.
“Major suppliers like NTUC Fairprice and Sheng Siong, they have doubled, if not tripled the number of supply runs that they're doing,” said Mr Chan.
“So today, you can see that actually most of the essential items are back on the shelves.”
[h=3]READ: ‘Buy what you need, no need to create your own stockpile’: FairPrice Group CEO[/h][h=3]READ: FairPrice imposes purchase limits for paper products, rice and instant noodles amid coronavirus outbreak[/h]From Sunday, Fairprice also implemented limits on paper products, rice and instant noodles for customers.
In a notice put up in stores across Singapore on Sunday morning, FairPrice said the purchase limits were put in place “to ensure more customers have access to high demand items”.
The S$50 limit for vegetables also remained in place.
IMPORTANT TO REMAIN CALM: CHAN CHUN SING
Mr Chan reiterated Singapore’s four-pronged stockpile strategy, which includes having sufficient reserve of food items that can “last us quite some time in an emergency”, diversifying food sources, having local production capabilities, and working with regional partners to secure supply lines.
He also said that it is important for residents to remain calm at this juncture.
Singaporeans must take care of the vulnerable and not just themselves, he said.
As of Saturday evening, Singapore had seven new cases of novel coronavirus, taking the country's tally to 40.
Globally, more than 37,000 have been infected and at least 800 have been killed by the coronavirus outbreak, surpassing the death toll of the the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.
[h=3]READ: PM Lee urges Singapore to take courage amid coronavirus outbreak, see through stressful time together[/h]“If in a crisis all of us only care for ourselves, and it's only the strong taking care of themselves, then I think it will be a bad testimony to the kind of society that we want,” Mr Chan said.
On bad behaviour spotted among some shoppers, he said that it “undermine(s) our reputation in the international community” as other countries are looking at how Singapore is responding to the situation.
“If we don't do this collectively, we undermine the international confidence in our system, in our society, and that will have long term implications,” he said.
One of the priorities right now is to make sure that the vulnerable and the old are able to meet their needs, particularly on securing medical supplies, Mr Chan said, sharing an example of diabetic patients who are not able to purchase alcohol swabs for their insulin jabs.
Giving an update on the collection of masks, Mr Lee said that nationwide, about 54 per cent of households have collected theirs so far. Remaining stock after the end-February collection deadline will be given to vulnerable communities.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...