1 Early voting in S. Korea
Early voting in South Korea's parliamentary election kicked off yesterday, with coronavirus patients casting their ballots at designated stations. Candidates in the running have also come up with new ways to campaign to limit the risk of contagion, such as dropping handshakes for fist bumps.
2 Elderly urged to stay home
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong appealed to older Singaporeans to stay home, stressing that everyone needed to play a part in keeping the Covid-19 outbreak contained. He used a part of an online video address on the situation to speak directly to a group considered most vulnerable to the virus.
3 India's community spirit
India's local communities have come together to lend a hand to their poorest and most vulnerable, providing them with meals, masks and teaching them about social distancing. Middle-class families and private firms have helped to fill critical gaps in a time when the slow-moving bureaucracy in some places was still scrambling to put systems in place.
4 Malaysia's 1MDB missteps
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's government is facing obstacles in trying to recover billions of dollars embezzled from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). Part of the problem stems from missteps by the previous government that left negotiations with international counter parties in varying stages of limbo.
5 Decency in the age of virus
In this pandemic, it is time to stock up - not on toilet rolls, but on acts of consideration for others, says Professor Chong Siow Ann, calling for decency in a time of coronavirus. This includes obeying rules on social distancing, getting on with our job and looking out and caring for one another through this frightening time.
6 Retiree helps those in need
With the little that he has, topped up with small donations from friends, retired cleaner Zulkifli Atnawi, 60, helps with the grocery run for several neighbours amid the enhanced circuit breaker measures, and makes visits to reassure and update them.
7 Isolation's impact on the old
Now that all activities for seniors have ceased, owing to strict circuit breaker measures, many elderly people who live alone risk experiencing the negative effects of social isolation. Stay-home measures, which are the best way to protect the frail and vulnerable from the virus, may ironically be hard to bear for those who do not live with family or have housemates.
8 Productivity to fall: Experts
Companies forced to operate remotely during the four-week circuit breaker period are likely to experience a fall in productivity, experts said. Though studies have shown that offering staff flexible work arrangements such as telecommuting can raise productivity, the current situation of compulsory work from home in Singapore will see many firms struggling to adjust if they have not digitalised.
9 S'pore's new grandmaster
Kevin Goh's 13-year quest to join chess' grandmaster ranks has paid off, with the 36-year-old reckoning that he is one of only about 20 in the world who are amateurs. He is the second Singapore-born person to earn the title after Wong Meng Kong.
10 Master of caricatures
American cartoonist Mort Drucker, a long-time contributor to Mad magazine known for his caricatures of actors, politicians and other celebrities, died on Thursday at the age of 91. He specialised in illustrating Mad's movie and television satires and inspired several generations of cartoonists.
INTERACTIVE
Creative Covid-19 stay-at-home ideas
How are you spending your time at home? Are you cooking up a storm? See what our readers have been up to while at home and share your own #stayhome ideas. str.sg/blurb313
VIDEO
More calls to stay home
From celebrities to hawkers to food delivery riders, people in Singapore are making this urgent and impassioned plea: Stay at home to protect yourself and others. str.sg/blurb311
What it should have been
Our headline yesterday, "Net purchases of US$29.9m in MAS forex intervention", was wrong. The correct figure is US$29.9 billion, as stated in the report.
We are sorry for the error.
