Over 3,300 fines totalling $990,000 meted out last year for breaching rules

More than 3,300 fines were issued last year to people for breaching Covid-19 rules - an improvement from 2020 when more than 8,600 fines were handed out.

The fines, which came up to more than $990,000, were for non-adherence to safe distancing and safe management measures (SMMs), and for not wearing masks.

Of these, about 1,000 fines were for mask-wearing offences, while most of the remaining penalties were for gathering in groups larger than the permitted size, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said last Thursday.

In 2020, more than 8,600 fines - totalling more than $2.5 million - were issued from April to December, with more than 1,700 fines imposed on those who did not wear masks.

First-time offenders who breach safe distancing measures are fined $300, and second-time wrongdoers $1,000. Offenders may also face prosecution in court for egregious cases and get higher fines if convicted.

Last year, more than 770 fines were also issued to food and beverage outlets for breaching Covid-19 measures, more than double the over 340 outlets fined from June 2020 to last March.

The bulk of the fines last year were for allowing patrons to consume alcohol after 10.30pm and failing to minimise interaction between staff and diners, maintain a safe distance of 1m between groups of customers and ensure that groups of diners did not exceed the maximum permitted size.

A spokesman for MSE said government agencies will continue to take firm enforcement action. "Observing SMMs remains a key strategy in the fight against Covid-19. We urge everyone to continue doing their part amid the rising number of Omicron variant infections."

As Omicron cases surge in Singapore, with infections topping 26,000 last Tuesday, the Government has postponed plans to ease Covid-19 measures that were due to start last Friday, such as allowing groups of five to visit homes at any one time.

Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases specialist at Rophi Clinic, said the key is to spread cases out over a longer period to avoid putting a strain on the healthcare system. "If the healthcare system is burdened, death cases will rise, not just from Covid-19, but other non-Covid-19 cases, for example due to non-availability of beds, delayed surgery and delayed chemotherapy.

Professor Dale Fisher, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the National University Hospital, said a paced approach will help to reduce "collateral damage" to non-Covid-19 patients. "With usual services like elective surgery being cancelled, people waiting for their hip surgery, for instance, will be in pain."

He added: "We're letting the virus go through the community in a controlled way, as we move towards endemic disease."

Singaporeans support the need to stay vigilant amid the Omicron wave.

Secretary Adeline Ng, 56, said when she goes to work at 8am, she observes people checking in using TraceTogether, even though there is no one around to ensure they do so.

Ms Mindy Low, a schoolteacher in her 20s, said: "I think people have got more lax with safe distancing ... due to Covid-19 fatigue, and it doesn't help that public transport, the malls and workplaces are more packed now."

She added that people should keep a safe distance and avoid crowds amid the current surge in infections.