Home Affairs Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sun Xueling shared on her Facebook on Friday (3 April) a screenshot of an email written by a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight attendant who wishes to volunteer at Punggol community centres.
The SIA flight attendant, who is also a resident of Punggol, wrote that she would like to render assistance to manage the crowd in community centre when people submit application for Temporary Relief Fund (TRF) as her job has been temporarily halted due to COVID-19 crisis.
She wrote, “I hate to bother you like this, but I was there this afternoon queuing for the Temporary Relief Fund when I noticed that an extra pair of hands could definitely do good.”
“Now that I no longer have any flights to operate, I thought it would be best if I could render some kind of help and return to the community.”
“Apart from queue management, temperature taking and other menial tasks, I can also help the elderly and other individuals who require assistance,” she noted.
In the end of email, she mentioned again that she had her all days free now and while hoping Ms Sun to reach out her for any assistance.
Ms Sun was heartened to receive the email and applauded the girl for showing her kindness to help during this tough period.
Ms Sun wrote in her post, “SQ may be down but the Singapore spirit flies high. This is our “Singapore Girl” at its best. There are good kind-hearted people out there. And we must have faith. Together we can overcome!”
SIA cuts down 96 per cent of capacity; workers being offered for voluntary no-pay leave scheme
Meanwhile, as aviation was among the industries that hit-hard by COVID-19 pandemic, SIA announced last Monday (23 March) that it will slash 96 per cent of the scheduled capacity due to the increased stringent borders restrictions imposed by many countries.
SIA remarked that it is the greatest challenge that the SIA Group has faced in its existence given that around 138 of SIA and SilkAir planes will be grounded from a total fleet of 147 planes.
While SIA’s budget unit, Scoot is going to suspend “most of its network” as it grounds 47 of its 49 planes.
Along with the capacity cuts, a voluntary no-pay leave scheme will also be offered to the staffs while SIA Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong will take a 30 per cent pay cut himself.
Government rolled out TRF for needy families; more than 3,500 people queue up to submit application
As part of government support measures to cope with COVID-19 crisis, government rolled out TRF to help those needy families who have financial burdens during the ongoing crisis.
Under TRF package, eligible lower- to middle-income Singaporeans and permanent residents will received one-off $500 cash assistance through the applications at all social service offices run by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), as well as community centres from 1 to 30 April.
The eligible Fund recipient includes those who have lost their jobs or faced a personal income loss of at least 30 per cent after 23 Jan due to COVID-19, household income of $10,000 and below, as well as those who are not on ComCare assistance.
It was earlier reported that more than 3,500 people have seen queuing up at the community centres to submit their application for this Fund. The Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency, Mr Zainal Sapari also said that around 200 residents applied for the Fund at the Pasir Ris East Community Centre.
MOH reviews stance on mask while government noted that no need to wear mask if you are well
Separately, in another Facebook post, Ms Sun shared that she is involved in the packing of reusable cloth face masks sewed by a group of senior volunteers over the past month.
Noting that the reusable cloth face masks are for elderly and children in her GRC, she said, “These cloth face masks are not as good as surgical masks but we are also aware that some elderly residents prefer cloth based products. So this is just an extra option for our families.”
Nonetheless, she remarked that the “best way to stay safe” from the disease is to stay home, practice safe distancing and wash hands frequently.
Similarly, CEO of Temasek Ho Ching has also made similar calls by asking people to make a homemade face mask on her Facebook page.
She said in her post, “Any masks will be better than no masks – however low the risk, a mask can help lower it further by a little bit.”
When speaking on the mask usage in public areas, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had previously noted that there is no need to wear mask if you are well.
However, four medical professionals in Singapore wrote an open letter advising public to wear face masks and to practice social-distancing in order to control the transmission of virus.
In addition to the advise from local medical experts, various global health experts also stressed the importance and face mask usage while urging authorities to broaden its usage during the pandemic.
Singapore government is now reportedly reviewing its stance on masks, where it was said that Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking at the medical evidence “very carefully”.
