10 must-reads for today

Water agency PUB has a new kind of safe distancing ambassador on the ground. Called the O-R3, it is an autonomous robot originally used for surveillance at Bedok Reservoir. But with Covid-19 spreading in the community, PUB last Thursday started using it to broadcast safe distancing messages at the park.

Facilities for Covid-19 patients both in and outside of hospitals will be ramped up, as Singapore gears up for an increase in the number of confirmed cases in the coming months. Intensive care unit capacity, facilities for isolation and care needs, and medical staff needed to run these facilities will be increased. TOP OF THE NEWS A1

The University of Oxford is ahead in the worldwide race to create a coronavirus vaccine. Its scientists have scheduled tests of their new vaccine involving more than 6,000 people by the end of next month. They say that with an emergency approval from regulators, the first few million doses of their vaccine could be available by September.

United States scientists are working with China to investigate the origin of Covid-19, despite criticism from the Trump administration that Beijing is not cooperating with outsiders to stem the disease. The effort relies on help from the Chinese Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

The United States is set to impose new restrictions on exports to China to keep semiconductor production equipment and other technology away from Beijing's military. The new rules will require licences for US companies to sell certain items to companies in China that support the military, even if the products are for civilian use.

Not everything about the pandemic is bad news. There are silver linings, including a greater appreciation of the value of housework and a heightened enjoyment of nature. Hopefully, with the end of Covid-19, some of the changes will be retained as the new normal for the betterment of society, says Professor Euston Quah.

Singapore Sports School athletes, whose training routines have been disrupted after the elevated circuit breaker measures kicked in on April 7, have had to make do with working out at home. They are also now spending more time watching and analysing videos of matches while juggling academic lessons.

Supermarket operator Sheng Siong will give its staff, excluding directors, an additional month of salary for their hard work amid greater demand triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. This comes as the group posted a 49.9 per cent jump in net profit to $29 million for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a year ago.

Professional e-sports may have grown by leaps and bounds worldwide, but a lack of opportunities for casual gamers led to the formation of Esports Players League - a global media network and tournament platform headquartered in Singapore that focuses on online competition and digital interactivity.

The spin-off horror fantasy series Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels is set in 1930s Los Angeles. But star Natalie Dormer (left) says the show is really about what is happening in the world today, with politicians playing on people's fears of one another and deep uncertainty over the future hanging over everyone.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli discusses hot-button issues such as why people are still breaking safe distancing rules and the rise in the number of officers and safe distancing ambassadors being abused. str.sg/blurb343

Thousands of people joined an islandwide singalong of well-loved tune Home last Saturday evening in an effort to thank front-line and migrant workers. Here are some of the clips. str.sg/blurb344