SINGAPORE - Singaporeans were still venturing out to shopping malls and megastores to get what they need the day before "circuit breaker" measures kicked in, although the mad rush over the weekend was not apparent.
There were no long queues to enter the malls The Straits Times visited on Monday (April 6) as crowd control measures were in place. Queues formed only outside certain stores that restricted the number of customers allowed in at any one time.
From Tuesday (April 7), non-essential services, which include department stores and retail outlets, will be closed for four weeks until May 4 to pre-empt escalating coronavirus infections. Only key economic sectors and essential services such as food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and key banking services will be open.
After a packed weekend at Ikea's Alexandra store, the scene at the Swedish furniture chain's outlet was comparatively quieter on Monday.
Shoppers, including a number of elderly and a handful of children and infants, were mostly wearing masks and keeping to a relatively safe distance from each other within the megastore.
Mr Ashwin Nair, 42, was one of the shoppers at Ikea hoping to pick up an office chair but left disappointed as they were sold out. His wife will also be working from home for the next month but they have only one study area.
"I guess I'll have to make do and put a cushion on the dining chair or buy one online but there's the uncertainty regarding delivery; you don't know when it'll arrive," said Mr Nair, who works as a manager in the shipping industry.
He and his wife went to Ikea on Saturday to buy an office chair but turned back after seeing the long queue.
Over the weekend, photos of meandering queues outside the furniture store circulated on social media, prompting the store to urge shoppers to avoid visiting during peak hours.
Healthcare assistant Salmah Mohamad, 60, made a quick trip to pick up furniture and shelves. She moved into a new home with her husband last week.
She said: "I have no choice but to come pick up some essentials cause I need to unpack and tidy up my house. I'll be very fast; just buy what I need and go home."
Similar scenes played out in the heartland malls, where people were doing last-minute shopping to prepare for the shutdown.
Ms Cheryl L, 29, borrowed 16 picture books at the Cheng San Public Library to read them to her two-year-old daughter at bedtime over the upcoming weeks.
"My daughter is very young, so I don't want to put her in front of the screen at all, if possible. I will read to her, and with the libraries closed for a month, I must make sure I get as many books as I can," said the freelance artist, who did not want to give her full name.
At some stores, shoppers were not deterred by the queue.
One parent, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Teo, waited in line at the Popular branch in Lot One shopping mall in Choa Chu Kang to buy stationary and assessment books for her 11-year-old daughter in preparation for home-based learning.
"We heard that there were a lot of people going to Popular to stock up, so we thought it's better to come in the afternoon, when there are fewer people," said the 41-year-old housewife.
Yishun Innova Junior College student Andrey Soo, 18, and his friend had no qualms about joining a snaking queue of around 20 people, mostly students in school uniforms, to enter the Muji branch in Jem, in Jurong, to buy pen refills and foolscap paper.
He said: "We're not panic-buying stationery; this is just what we need for our studies. Even if there's no home learning and we have to go to school, I'll still need to buy stationery."
