Singaporean youths react to the end of circuit breaker measures

What will our daily lives look like after the end of the circuit breaker on Jun 1?

We asked Singaporean youths about their first thoughts on the end of circuit breaker measures and their plans on transitioning to the new normal:

Looking forward to being more productive at work

“Honestly, this is the best news I heard in a while, second to “Your Grab Food is on the way”. Having three stages is a good precaution. It’s like you can’t suddenly stop going to the hospital for check-ups after recovering from a heart attack.

“From a business perspective, this is a good time for companies to recover at a comfortable pace and return to their usual flow or come back stronger by Phase 3. This kind of thing is not good to kan cheong.

“I’m grateful that my company did not decide to let go of anyone during the circuit breaker period but instead went for a pay cut. But I don’t have as many projects on my hands these days. Working from home, for me, is not very productive when my work desk is located just beside my bed.

“If my supervisor were to do a random check on me right now, I would probably be caught lying in bed watching TikTok in my pyjamas. Hearing that the circuit breaker period is going to end is truly a blessing.” – Muhammad Syakeel, 28, Art Director

Completing final year projects from home

“I think it’s a reasonable move considering the virus is still around. It ensures the safety and well-being of Singaporeans while taking into consideration that there might be a second wave of infections.

“Until the situation stabilises, I feel it is understandable for the government to continue limiting social gatherings outside of one’s family circle.

“While my lessons have been conducted online for the past month or so, I was actually looking forward to returning to campus as I miss attending physical classes. If you have any doubts, you might not be able to get answers straightaway during online classes, unless it’s a video meeting with your lecturer.

“As a final year student, it’s challenging to complete our final year project when we have no physical interactions with our group mates. So, we held our discussions online on Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet instead.” – Shannon Ho, 18, Polytechnic student

Continue keeping in touch with friends online

“I am grateful that the government is acting very cautiously in resuming daily activities to reduce community transmission. A progressive reopening strategy will also help to maintain low infection numbers.

“Based on my experience with home-based learning last semester, I felt that only lectures were effectively transitioned to online platforms. Tutorials, which thrive on small class sizes with active face-to-face interactions, were less effective in enhancing learning when conducted online.

“Like everyone else, I felt a little dejected as I wouldn’t be able to see my friends for another month. But I plan on keeping in touch with regular FaceTimes and Game Nights, like what I have been doing for the past seven weeks. My favourite games so far are Scribbl.io and Codewords!” – Nikita Gupta, 22, Undergraduate

Hoping for things to return to normal soon

“I was hoping that things would go back to normal by Jun 1. I haven’t met any of my friends for two months. I only talked to them online and called them a couple of times.

“I’m starting to realise how much I took for granted all those times we could roam freely without wearing masks. We can’t even do something as simple as going out for lunch or watching a movie anymore.

“To be very honest, some of the modules I’m taking this semester are very challenging to complete online. Furthermore, online classes aren’t interactive or stimulating, which makes school very burdensome. But the Singaporeans-do-well-in-studies mindset still applies and we just have to adapt to get that A.

“Things have changed very drastically, and I just hope this whole situation ends soon.” – Nur Aisyah, 18, Polytechnic student

Additional Reporting By: Winny Wint Htae, Esther Lam, Anis Nabilah, Low Jia Ying