Under the new Covid-19 bill (passed in Singaporean parliament today), all social gatherings of any size in both private and public spaces will be prohibited. This bill will last for six months and prohibits even private parties/gatherings with families and friends who do not live together. The bill enables the Health Minister to prohibit any events/gatherings and impose conditions on how any of these events are conducted.
Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Bill, the Government has included provisions to provide the legal basis in order to enforce the enhanced safe distancing measures, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. "These are temporary measures specific to the COVID-19 situation we are facing currently," he added.
"This enables us to better regulate events and gatherings, including those that take place on private properties," said Mr Gan in Parliament. "For example, we had earlier required certain events and mass gatherings to be deferred or cancelled.”
Many people around the world were wondering whether Singapore would legally enforce a ‘lockdown’ as the new circuit breaker policies (which were designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 and will be imposed until May 4) simply advised the populace to not leave their homes and reduce frequency of meeting other people. This new law emulates the spirit of many other nations globally who have legally enforced Covid-19 preventive measures. The Bill (aka the Covid-19 bill or Temporary Measures bill) will be valid for six months, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had said earlier, with the Minister for Law given power to extend it for up to a year.
The Bill will also allow the minister to restrict individuals’ movements and interactions at their place of residence or any specified place, as well as their use of common areas such as void decks, said Mr Gan.
"While the majority of Singaporeans are responsible and will try to comply with the safe distancing measures, there will inevitably be a few individuals who do not treat the situation seriously and blatantly disregard the rules," he added. "We will not hesitate to take action against such persons and send a strong signal to prevent such behaviour from negating our collective efforts during this crucial circuit breaker to slow down the infection.”
Mr Gan also emphasised that if the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Singapore, it may become necessary to requisition buildings suitable for conversion into accommodations and care facilities in order to isolate individuals who are suspected or confirmed to be infected, to reduce the risk of further spread, while caring for them.”
This bill also allocated power to Mr Gan as he is now able to close premises in order to reduce transmission of the virus. In addition to this, the bill also provide the option to bring the RORA (Requisition of Resources Act) into effect. According to the SSO, the RORA is: “an Act to provide for the requisition of resources for defence and other purposes; and to provide for the payment of compensation in respect of the exercise of the powers conferred by this Act and for matters connected therewith.”
The Bill will enable the minister or any public officer authorised by the minister to appoint enforcement officers (ie. police officers, public officers and health officers appointed under the Infectious Diseases Act) in order to take action against individuals or entities which refuse to abide by the regulations and requirements. However, the enforcement officers will be looking at the cases ‘carefully’ and checking that non-compliance has a reasonable explanation before taking appropriate action. For For first time offenders, the penalty is a fine of up to S$10,000 or imprisonment of up to six months, or both. For second or subsequent offences, the penalty is a fine of up to S$20,000, or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both.
"For our enhanced safe distancing measures to work, we need members of the public to take the measures seriously," said Mr Gan. "Therefore, failure to adhere to the measures without a reasonable justification will constitute an offence. We need to send a strong signal to those who are egregious in flouting the measures, as they are putting not only themselves but also others at risk.”
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