NEA will lift the odd/even date entry restriction at the four popular markets on weekends, as part of the gradual resumption of activities in Phase Two. As waiting time to enter these markets may be longer with the lifting of the entry restriction, patrons are advised to visit these markets during weekdays and non-peak hours, and refer to Space Out (www.spaceout.gov.sg) to better plan their visits to have a more pleasant marketing experience.
Singapore, 10 September 2020 – With effect from 12 September 2020, patrons visiting the four popular markets on weekends – Geylang Serai Market, Block 104/105 Yishun Ring Road (Chong Pang Market), Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane, and Block 505 Jurong West Street 52, will not be subject to the odd/even date entry restriction. With this easing, all four popular markets will no longer have odd/even date entry restriction in place, although the caps on the number of patrons who can be inside the market at any one time remain, to ensure that safe distancing can be effectively maintained inside the market.
Updates on the four popular markets since the lifting of the odd/even date entry restriction on weekdays
2 The odd/even date entry restriction was implemented on 22 April 2020 at four of the most popular markets. Under this entry restriction, patrons’ access to these markets is restricted based on the last digit of their National Registration Identification Card (NRIC) or Foreign Identification Number (FIN) matching the odd and even date of the month, on the day of the visit to these markets. As part of gradual resumption of activities in Phase Two, NEA lifted the restriction at these markets on weekdays, from 13 August 2020.
3 Since the lifting of the odd/even date entry restriction at the four popular markets, NEA has observed a significant increase in the average daily footfall at all four markets on weekdays, ranging from between 18 to 48 per cent. This has brought more business to the market stallholders while giving more flexibility to patrons visiting these popular markets. Outside the markets, there were either no queues or short to moderate queues observed on weekdays, mostly at Geylang Serai Market and Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane. Overall, the weekday queue situation outside the markets in the past three weeks has been manageable and under control.
Lifting the odd/even date entry restriction at the four popular markets on weekends
4 As for the weekends, the queue situations at the four markets have remained largely unchanged from what they were more than three weeks ago. This is because the odd/even date entry restriction remains in place on weekends, and there was also minimal diversion of the weekend crowd to weekdays over the last three weeks. The longest queues were spotted at Geylang Serai Market, with over 100 patrons in line, and Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane, with about 70 patrons in line. The other two markets did not see any queues on weekends. At their respective peak hours at the two busier markets, it took about 20 minutes for a patron to enter Geylang Serai Market and 15 minutes for a patron to enter the market at Block 20/21 Marsiling Lane. This is assessed to be a manageable queue length.
5 NEA will thus also lift the odd/even date entry restriction at the four popular markets on weekends, starting from 12 September 2020. This will allow stallholders at these markets to enjoy more footfall and give patrons slightly more flexibility to visit the markets. Effective safe distancing inside these markets will be ensured as the capacity caps remain in place.
6 SafeEntry will continue to be in use. With the lifting of the odd/even date entry restriction at the four popular markets, we seek the understanding of members of the public that the waiting time to enter these markets may be longer and urge patrons to these markets to refer to Space Out (www.spaceout.gov.sg) to obtain crowd level information, such as the length of the queue waiting to enter these markets when they have reached the allowable capacity. NEA will also be working with the respective Town Councils managing the common areas of these markets to ensure that queue management is well executed and that the necessary safe distancing measures are also in place within the queues.
Everyone has a role to play in the fight against COVID-19
7 To continue keeping COVID-19 at bay and the likelihood of community transmission to a minimum, we cannot afford to be complacent and we will need to work together to ensure a safe resumption of activities in the markets. Members of the public should continue to adhere to safe distancing measures and are encouraged to visit the markets on weekdays or at the non-peak period between 10:00am to12:00pm on weekends. The crowd during this time window can be up to 50 per cent less than the early morning and fresh produce continues to be available at markets up to noon.
8 We will continue to monitor the safe management measures at markets and hawker centres closely and if the queue situation becomes unmanageable, we may introduce further targeted safe management measures to safeguard the safety and well-being of all patrons and stallholders in the markets.
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