SINGAPORE - On the last day of what has been a gruelling 2020, healthcare staff at 20 hospitals here received some cheer in the form of cartons of fruit, packed and sent by a local restaurant in Serangoon Road.

The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR) had sent hot coffee and snacks to hospitals throughout the circuit breaker period from April to June, and on Thursday (Dec 31), distributed fruits to express its gratitude.

Mr Raghavendra Shastry, the restaurant's operations director, said he thought it was a good time again to "thank the medical fraternity and healthcare workers for their hard work the whole year".

"I asked myself, if not now, then when?" said Mr Shastry.

Parliamentary secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua, who helped prepare the cartons, said MTR's efforts are "truly commendable".

"2020 has been a year of disruption and challenges for all of us, but I think one thing that we can all agree on is that we are very proud of our healthcare workers who have been working tirelessly and are committed to their jobs," said Mr Chua.

The Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, Mr Periasamy Kumaran, who was also invited to witness the event, praised the Singapore Government for controlling the pandemic here, noting that Singapore is "perhaps one of the safest places to be in the world today".

"I'm also hopeful that next year will be a much better one, and that we can hope to have a more normal lifestyle in the coming months," said Mr Kumaran.