Zaobao video series aims to keep seniors active amid coronavirus outbreak

The video series will have information for seniors on protecting themselves and their loved ones during the coronavirus outbreak. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Seniors can look forward to a video series starting on Zaobao's website tomorrow on fitness, cooking and singing to keep them active during the coronavirus outbreak.

Platforms including Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News and 96.3 Hao FM will provide details on navigating the website in the coming days.

"With the recent suspension of senior-centric activities by government agencies until March 24, we are collaborating with zaobao.sg to engage our seniors so that they can continue to stay active," said Ms Soffy Hariyanti, director of the campaigns and production department at the Ministry of Communications and Information.

The programmes will also have information for seniors on protecting themselves and their loved ones during the outbreak, she added.

They will be live-streamed from 7am on zaobao.sg from Mondays to Fridays, from tomorrow until March 27, with three main segments daily, each conducted by People's Association (PA) trainers.

The first programme is a 45-minute fitness segment called Come 'n Exercise @ zaobao.sg, featuring workout sessions for senior citizens and conducted by fitness trainers Kelvin Toh and Chua Sock Ling.

Mr Toh is a former SEA Games representative for dance sport, while Ms Chua has been teaching group exercise classes, conducting mass workouts and choreographing fitness and dance routines for PA since 2005.

The second segment at 10am is the live-cooking Come 'n Cook @ zaobao.sg, helmed by chefs Pang Nyuk Yoon and Loo Tiong Bin, who specialise in restaurant-style Chinese cooking.

Traditional Chinese medicine physician Kwek Mei Ling will talk about the ingredients used in the dishes and their health benefits.

The final segment at 3pm is Come 'n Sing @ zaobao.sg, which teaches the audience singing techniques through a mix of Mandarin and Hokkien songs.

The featured trainers include Mr David Chia Kim Cheok and Ms Irene Kalmen Lim. Mr Chia boasts more than 40 years of singing and performing experience, while Ms Lim graduated from the University of Southern California where she studied music, and has been teaching singing since 2004.

Local playwright Han Laoda has also pre-recorded a series of educational videos to teach Chinese idioms, phrases and the origin of Chinese words using the Covid-19 situation as background.

"We need to change our lifestyle to cope with the current Covid-19 situation," said Ms Lee Huay Leng, head of the Chinese Media Group at Singapore Press Holdings.

"We can look at it positively as we can switch to using digital platforms like handphones and tablets to learn cooking, exercise or even language skills.

"We hope that our digital offerings will be able to enrich the lives of our readers and listeners in such troubling times."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 15, 2020, with the headline Zaobao video series aims to keep seniors active amid coronavirus outbreak. Subscribe