Even after Singapore’s circuit breaker period ends on June 1, safe distancing ambassadors (SDAs) and enforcement officers will continue to be recruited and deployed to ensure the public observes safe distancing measures.
The announcement was made by Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR), the lead agency in charge of safe distancing enforcement, amid worries from current ambassadors that their incomes may dry up.
Ambassadors can be paid up to S$2,500 a month and for many of them, their livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic and they took on the temporary social distancing enforcement roles to tide over in the meantime.
About 3,000 safe distancing personnel are deployed daily, the ministry said.
“The plan is to maintain daily deployment at current levels for a start, and adjust deployment numbers depending on the ground situation,” it added.
New Hires Needed As Public Officers Return To Duties
Singapore plans to ease the circuit breaker in three phases, with the first phase starting on June 2 and expected to last at least a few weeks, while the second phase is expected to last a few months.
MEWR said that more than 65 public agencies are involved with enforcement work on the ground, and many of the ambassadors and enforcement officers are also public officers juggling regular duties with enforcement work.
“As it will take some time before Singapore reaches a new normal in Phase 3, new SDAs will be recruited to allow some of the public officers to return full-time to their duties,” the ministry said.
For some ambassadors, their contracts are slated to end in June but may be extended.
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