SINGAPORE – There were empty seats on the city-bound MRT and when the train pulled into Raffles Place, there were no mad dashes. It was not the usual weekday morning in the CBD, on the first day that Singapore went into circuit-breaker mode on Tuesday (April 7).

With most workplaces shut, traffic was light after parents dropped their kids off at school – the last day before full home-based learning kicks in on Wednesday.

In the heartland, wet markets, hawker centres and other eateries were open but it was takeaways for all.

The measures are aimed at containing the spread of the Covid-19, which has infected 1,375 in Singapore as of Tuesday.

Mr Kevin K, 41, who works in a bank in Raffles Place said that while the usual peak hour crowd had begun dispersing from a few weeks back when some people started working from home, Tuesday’s foot traffic was the leanest he had ever seen on a working day.

“You can close your eyes and walk around, and it would probably take quite a while before you hit hit anyone,” he said.

Mr Kenny Chua, 38, also a banking staff, said: “I think the full impact will be felt tomorrow, when the schools close.”

Banks that provide essential services are among the workplaces that are allowed to remain open, though many have scaled back on the number of staff working from the office.

At Marine Terrace hawker centre, vendors told customers: “Only takeaways.”

Hawker stalls had kept their bowls and utensils, with only takeout containers available.

“If customers eat here, they will be fined and so will we,” says wonton mee seller Yeung Nai Har. “We are preparing less food so that there is less wastage.”

Serangoon MRT station – usually packed between 8.30am and 9am on weekdays – which serves as an interchange for the North East and Circle lines was sparse this morning.

There were fewer people than on a Sunday, with no queues at any of the platform doors, The Straits Times observed.

While trains continued to run frequently, there were plenty of empty seats.

A customer service officer said that while there were students earlier, it should be a different scene when schools shut tomorrow.

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