All beaches in Singapore to be closed as part of stricter COVID-19 measures

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All beaches in Singapore to be closed as part of stricter COVID-19 measures

Closing beaches is a necessary move to protect Singaporeans, said Minister Lawrence Wong.

Nigel Chin

Published: 16 May 2020, 9:48 PM

Beaches in Singapore will be closed as part of the measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Minister of National Development Lawrence Wong announced it in a Facebook post on Saturday (Apr 11).

The National Parks Board (NParks), in a notice on its website, said that beaches at East Coast Park, Changi Beach Park, Pasir Ris Park, Punggol Point Park, Sembawang Park and West Coast Park will be closed to “allow for safe distancing and prevent gathering in groups”.

“This is a public health crisis and we have to do what is right and necessary to protect Singaporeans,” the minister wrote in his post.

“In theory, we could keep most places open, so long as safe distancing measures are strictly adhered to. But increasingly we see that this is hard to achieve. So tougher measures are necessary.”

On Friday, 2,900 warnings and 40 fines were issued to individuals for not complying with safe distancing measures. In total, more than 3,100 stern written warnings have been issued during the circuit breaker period.