Daily Archives: May 7, 2020 (22 Articles Found)

COVID-19: Former Nexus International School, Ngee Ann Poly staff apartments to house migrant workers in essential services

Coronavirus: Animal welfare groups to meet with MND and NParks amid falling donations and manpower crunch

Little red dot turns blue as iconic landmarks in Singapore light up for #SeeItBlue campaign

Heartland shops’ business battered by coronavirus crisis

Shop closed, but jewellery store finds customers online

More trash in past month, but fewer waste collectors amid Covid-19 circuit breaker

NEA launches fund to help subsidise cost of installing food waste treatment systems

Not pests, but sources of information: A mosquito analyst’s work in the fight against dengue

In vital jobs fighting COVID-19, Malaysians in Singapore wrestle with heartache of separation

Govt, businesses and society need honest discussion on migrant worker issues: Panel

TODAYonline

All of us guilty of poor treatment of foreign workers

Foreign workers have been treated far better here than elsewhere

MTI carefully reviews appeals to continue operations

Gillman Barracks, arts organisations must soldier on

Chan + Hori Contemporary’s decision to close its Gillman Barracks space from June 30 (Chan + Hori evolves to survive, May 5) is another major blow to the already beleaguered Gillman Barracks, which has suffered multiple exoduses since…

Supermarkets should better communicate product shortages

When visiting a supermarket, I often notice labels that say “temporarily out of stock”. Spices, pastas, tomato sauce, chocolate, coffee, ice cream, other frozen goods and many other products have quietly disappeared from the shelves. The supermarket home…

Ensure safe distancing is practised by shop vendors

It is good news for vendors and shoppers alike that the Government is gradually easing circuit breaker measures. But should life return to normal, some environments will make it difficult to practise safe distancing. Shoppers will throng malls.…

Singapore reports 741 new COVID-19 cases, including healthcare worker at Singapore Expo community care facility

Singapore reported 741 new COVID-19 cases as of noon on Thurs, including two healthcare workers and two quarantine order officers. There are now 20,939 COVID-19 cases in the country. The vast majority of the new cases are work…

COVID-19: Former Nexus International School, Ngee Ann Poly staff apartments to house migrant workers in essential services

Two vacant state properties at Kismis Ave and Ulu Pandan Road will be used to house healthy foreign workers in essential services amid the COVID-19 outbreak. SLA said on Thurs that it has been working with other government…

Coronavirus: Animal welfare groups to meet with MND and NParks amid falling donations and manpower crunch

The Covid-19 pandemic is taking a toll on the operations of AWGs in Singapore as donations drop and fewer volunteers allowed on premises. Social distancing measures and circuit breaker regulations have prevented groups from holding regular fund-raisers and…

Little red dot turns blue as iconic landmarks in Singapore light up for #SeeItBlue campaign

The central city was transformed on Thurs night when around 30 landmarks such as MBS and Esplanade were lit up in varying shades of blue as part of the #SeeItBlue movement. The initiative is a mark of solidarity…

Heartland shops’ business battered by coronavirus crisis

Heartland areas are usually bustling places with “mom-and-pop” shops selling all manner of useful things, but the virus has battered these businesses, with many shuttered and few customers for the ones still open. Mr Yeo Hiang Meng, president…

Shop closed, but jewellery store finds customers online

Jewellery store Merlin Goldsmith has had to close during this circuit breaker period, but its director Janice Chin is grateful that business can continue in some measure, thanks to the shop’s online presence. She said: “Instead of choosing…

More trash in past month, but fewer waste collectors amid Covid-19 circuit breaker

The amount of garbage that Singapore households are chucking has increased in the past month since circuit breaker measures have impelled people to stay at home, even as the number of refuse collectors dropped by nearly a fifth.…

Singapore Business Review

SPH REIT to grant full rental waiver to retail and medical tenants

SPH REIT will be granting full rental waiver for Apr and May 2020 to eligible non-trading retail and medical tenants amidst the circuit breaker extension, according to an announcement. Qualified retail and medical tenants will be given 100%…

Singapore Business Review

MIT could lose 10-20% of tenants if circuit breaker tightens

Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) could lose 10-20% of their tenants who are operating-as-usual if the pandemic escalates further and the government tightens its circuit breaker measures as a result, according to a UOB Kay Hian report. Currently, it’s…

Singapore Business Review

Retail property vacancy rate widened to 8% in Q1

This chart from Savills shows that the island-wide vacancy rate amongst retail properties rose to 8% in Q1 from 7.4% in Q4 2019, despite a decline in retail supply. This was largely due to slow take-up of some…

Marks & Spencer Food teams with Foodpanda in three markets

Marks & Spencer Food is now available through the Foodpanda food-delivery app in three Asian markets: Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The two companies are promising orders of packaged foods, along with wine, in under 30 minutes –…

Inside Retail

Tough times to shutter Robinsons’ Jem outlet

Robinsons Singapore is shutting its Jurong outlet, in a further sign that the department store model may be increasingly untenable. The department store with a 162-year history – which in recent years has been trimming its physical footprint.…

The Business Times

NEA launches fund to help subsidise cost of installing food waste treatment systems

NEA launched a S$1.76 million food waste fund on Thurs as part of its efforts to tackle climate change. The fund aims to help organisations subsidise the cost of installing food waste treatments solutions. Capped at S$100,000 per…

Not pests, but sources of information: A mosquito analyst’s work in the fight against dengue

While most see mosquitoes as pests, 28-year-old Janet Ong views the tiny insects as sources of information. “The two most common reactions I get when I tell people that I’m a mosquito analyst – the first is that…

In vital jobs fighting COVID-19, Malaysians in Singapore wrestle with heartache of separation

For 10 hours a day, Priya Ramadass deep cleans floors, toilets, door handles, and sorts of high-touch areas using harsh chemical solvents to disinfect them – a job most Singaporeans shun as “dirty”. Yet as COVID-19 infection cases…

Govt, businesses and society need honest discussion on migrant worker issues: Panel

Singaporeans have to depart from their “fickle” and “self-serving” mindsets if they want to see a change in migrant workers’ conditions here, the executive director of MWC said. Mr Bernard Menon, who was speaking at a webinar hosted…

TODAYonline

All of us guilty of poor treatment of foreign workers

In Parliament, NMP Anthea Ong asked whether the Government would consider issuing an apology to migrant workers for what she called “dismal conditions” in their dormitories and especially since they are in “complete lockdown for the sake and…

Foreign workers have been treated far better here than elsewhere

Bangladeshi worker Sozal Mirza posted a message on the FB group True Life of Singapore Migrant Workers on Apr 17 which expressed gratitude for the treatment he received from the Singapore Government in many aspects of his current…

MTI carefully reviews appeals to continue operations

We refer to the letter by Mr Tong Jun Kian (How can firms appeal to MTI to continue operations?, May 5). The suspension of certain business operations is part of Singapore’s circuit breaker measures. It is to reduce…