SINGAPORE – Good friends Purawati, 28, and Ms Dwi Maharani, 38, have not met in two months and were thrilled to see each other in person on Sunday (June 21) when they met.

“It’s been so long and it has been boring without my friends,” said Ms Purawati, who had lunch with her fellow Indonesian domestic helper friend in the Kallang area.

As most of Singapore, including foreign domestic workers, stayed home during the two-month-long circuit breaker period that ended earlier this month, Sunday was a day of celebration for many domestic helpers who returned to their usual haunts for meals and quick shopping trips with friends.

Another pair of friends who were reunited were Ms Cristela Aquino Tamba, 48, and Ms Moreno Roselle Oris, 40, who were visibly excited when they met at Lucky Plaza.

“We have talked over video call but it’s not the same,” said Ms Tamba, adding that she had to resist giving her friend a hug.

“We still need to maintain safe distancing,” she said.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak and circuit breaker period, the duo would usually met more friends in groups of about 10, but on Sunday afternoon, it was just the two of them at the mall in Orchard Road.

“Smaller groups are better because we are also worried about the virus. Some of our friends are still staying home,” said Ms Tamba.

“It’s for our own good, we don’t want to bring the virus home to our employers.”

As compared to the weekends before the circuit breaker, the usual crowd at Lucky Plaza was missing when ST visited around lunch time on Sunday just after a heavy downpour.

While there was a queue to enter the mall, the line moved quickly as people scanned their identity cards or the SafeEntry QR Code and had their temperature taken at the main entrance.

Once inside, most shoppers were seen maintaining a safe distance from other groups and also adhered to the tape markings on the ground at various shops including remittance agencies, grocery stores and beauty salons.

Earlier this month, long queues were seen outside Lucky Plaza when foreign domestic workers flocked to the mall to remit money, raising concerns about safe distancing measures.

But the lines are now gone as customers are required to book an appointment in advance if they want to send money overseas through remittance agencies on weekends and public holidays.

Said Ms Wilma Bumagat, 44, a remittance teller at Lucky Plaza: “No service without an appointment. But business is also much slower, we used to see 500 people in one day, now it’s just 200.”

Most of the domestic helpers ST spoke to said they would return home early after running errands or meeting their friends as they did not want to loiter outside unnecessarily.

“I used to hang around until after dinner time, but today I will be going home around 2pm,” said Ms Hayde Ramos, 25, who had reached Lucky Plaza at around 11am.

The thinner crowds could also be partly due to some helpers taking their rest days on weekdays instead.

“I’m alone because my friend can’t take her day off today,” said a Filipino helper who wanted to be known only as Ms Neneng, 35.

She said her friend would be taking her rest day on a weekday instead.

As Singapore entered phase two last week, which allows groups of not more than five people to gather in public, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued an advisory to employers regarding foreign domestic helpers, who can now spend their rest day outside the home.

Besides being required to wear a mask and practise safe distancing, the MOM said helpers should inform their employers about their whereabouts and use the TraceTogether app to facilitate contact tracing.

They should also refrain from visiting crowded areas such as City Plaza, Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza and, with their employer’s permission, are encouraged to take their rest day on a weekday, when public spaces are less crowded.

On Sunday, safe distancing ambassadors as well as MOM officers were seen patrolling the three shopping malls.

City Plaza and Peninsula Plaza, which are popular among Indonesian and Myanmar domestic workers respectively, also saw smaller crowds.

The owner of a grocery shop at Peninsula Plaza in North Bridge Road who wanted to be known only as Mr Maung, 50, said on a usual Sunday, the mall would be so packed with people sitting or standing in the walkways that it was difficult to walk through the crowd.

“But now it’s different. It’s empty and people just buy their food and go home,” he said.

At City Plaza in Geylang Road, people stood a distance from each other while waiting their turn at remittance agencies and mobile phone shops.

The park nearby that is usually dotted with picnic mats on a Sunday afternoon was empty, and the red and white barrier tape along with signs that said “no waiting, sitting or gathering” were still up.

Inside the mall, some domestic helpers gathered in groups of fewer than five at an empty space on the second floor, with each group seated a distance from each other.

While the mall’s security officers would usually tell the groups to disperse, shopkeepers there were more understanding of the situation.

Madam Doris Tan, who runs a cosmetics shop, said in Mandarin: “It was raining earlier so they came here to sit. They’re not making a fuss.”

Madam Ta, who is in her 60s, said sales have dropped by about 50 per cent, but with helpers now being allowed to spend their rest days outside the home, she hopes business will pick up.

“Our mall relies on (foreign domestic helpers) to survive. Without them we will have no more business,” she said.

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