On 3rd April, our Prime Minister announced a community "circuit breaker” in Singapore as the number of COVID-19 cases were rising. What this means is other than a list of essential services which are allowed to continue running, residents are encouraged to stay home. Schools and non essential offices were to remain closed till 4th May. He also announced that each resident would be given a reusable mask so that the surgical masks could be saved for healthcare workers. This followed after a nationwide distribution of hand sanitisers.
Several Young Lasallians from the Lasallian Youth NetworK bravely responded to the call for helping with the issuing of reusable masks. They assisted our community partner, Toa Payoh East Community Club, who were overwhelmed by what they had to do in response to the circuit breaker. The volunteers spent their time doing temperature taking, running some meal errands, answering queries, and giving out masks. Measures like social distancing and using hand sanitisers, hand gloves, and masks were put in place to protect both the volunteers and members of the public collecting their masks.
This week-long project was a success as over 80% of Singapore Residents have collected their masks islandwide. (Text & Photos: Ms. Ed-Linddi Ong)
