“Taking
all things
into consideration, we
believe that we are
now ready to take a
decisive step forward
towards living with
Covid-19.”
– Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
From April 1, those
who are fully
vaccinated will be able
to travel between
Singapore and Malaysia
by land, including
driving, without testing
or quarantine.
This is likely to
kickstart short trips
that previously made
up the bulk of travel
between the
neighbouring countries.
“As both sides have
made good progress in
managing Covid-19, we
agreed that it is timely
to further reopen our
land border,” said
Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong after he
spoke to Malaysian
Prime Minister Ismail
Sabri Yaakob on
Thursday morning.
The Malaysian
Prime Minister said this
was a significant
milestone in restarting
travel between
Singapore and
Malaysia.
The Straits Times
Major turning point in Covid-19 fight
S’pore, Malaysia to reopen
land borders on April 1
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The group size limit will go up to 10
people and masks will no longer be
mandatory in outdoor settings from
Tuesday, as part of what Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong called a
decisive step forward towards living
with Covid-19.
Up to 75 per cent of employees
who can work from home will be
allowed to return to their work-
places.
And capacity limits for larger
events and settings with more than
1,000 people will be increased to 75
per cent as well.
In a national address on Thursday
outlining changes to safe manage-
ment measures (SMMs), PM Lee
announced that with the risk of
outdoor transmission significantly
lower, wearing masks outdoors will
become optional – but will remain
mandatory indoors.
The permissible group size will be
doubled from the current five peo-
ple to 10.
PM Lee explained that Singapore
was now in a position to ease
restrictions, having “reached a ma-
jor milestone” in its Covid-19 jour-
ney.
He pointed to high vaccination
levels – about 95 per cent of the
eligible population in Singapore
have completed the full vaccination
regimen and 71 per cent of the total
population have received a booster
shot.
The wave of cases caused by the
Omicron variant has crested and is
now subsiding, he added, noting that
the population also has stronger
immunity now, with many already
exposed to – and recovered from –
the virus.
Covid-19 case numbers have
dipped gradually from more than
24,000 on March 1 to around
10,000 in recent days.
“Crucially, our healthcare system
remains resilient,” said PM Lee.
“It was under considerable stress
at the peak of the Omicron wave,
but it held up. The load is still
heavy, but the pressure is now
easing.”
He said that in judging how far
and fast to ease restrictions, the
authorities were also mindful not to
stress healthcare workers and the
system to “breaking point”.
We must not place an impossible
burden on the healthcare workers,
and endanger many Covid-19 and
non-Covid-19 patients who urgently
need treatment,” said PM Lee.
“At the same time, we must
weigh the cost of stringent SMMs on
businesses and the economy, and
their impact on children needing to
learn, youth yearning to interact,
families seeking to bond, and com-
munities striving to connect.
“Taking all things into considera-
tion, we believe that we are now
ready to take a decisive step forward
towards living with Covid-19.”
The Straits Times
MORE REPORTS
ON PAGE 6
SINGAPORE, WEEKEND OF FRIDAY,
MARCH 25, 2022
MCI (P) 034/10/2021
BACK TO
FOOTBALL
AFTER
LENGTHY
BAN
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ZOMATO FACES HEAT
OVER 10-MINUTE
DELIVERY
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BEGINS WITH ME
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DEEPIKA FURIOUS
OVER SWIMWEAR
PHOTO LEAK
PAGE 8
Body of student killed in Ukraine
handed over to family
The body of Naveen Shekarappa
Gyanagoudar, who was killed by
Russian shelling in Ukraine on
March 1, arrived in Bengaluru on
Monday and was taken to his home
town Haveri in Karnataka.
The 21-year-old Indian medical
student’s last rites were done according
to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat
community’s tradition and the body
was donated to SS Medical College for
research.
No Class 12 re-exam for hijab
protesters
Hundreds of Class 12 students, who
boycotted practical examinations in
Karnataka while demanding hijabs to
be allowed inside classrooms, will not
get another chance to take them.
The state’s Primary and Secondary
Education Minister B.C. Nagesh said:
“How can we even consider the
possibility?
“If we allow students who
boycotted the practicals even after the
High Court gave its interim order, then
another student will come citing some
other reason and seek a second
chance.”
Governor condemns Rampurhat
violence, calls it ‘arson orgy’
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Tuesday described the
violence that unfolded in Rampurhat,
Birbhum district, as an “arson orgy”
and expressed his condolences to the
families of the eight people, including
two children, who died.
The victims were found charred
after some houses were allegedly set
on fire following the murder of a
Trinamool Congress deputy panchayat
chief at Bogtui village.
Eleven people were arrested.
17 dead after drinking spurious
liquor
At least 17 people were killed in Bihar
after consuming suspected spurious
liquor, News18 reported on Sunday.
According to the channel, the
deaths took place in Madhepura,
Bhagalpur, Banka and Murliganj
districts.
Modi thanks Australia for returning
stolen artefacts
Australia returned 29 religious and
cultural artefacts to India – several of
which were stolen or illegally exported
from the country – earning thanks
from Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during a Monday summit.
Thirteen of the returned pieces are
connected to alleged trafficker
Subhash Kapoor, a former Manhattan
art dealer who was the subject of a
massive US federal investigation.
Chinese foreign minister to make
surprise visit
China’s foreign minister will make a
surprise stop for talks in New Delhi
today, an Indian official said, though
neither side has formally announced
what would be the highest level visit
since border clashes soured relations
two years ago.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi is
expected to meet Indian Foreign
Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
and National Security Adviser Ajit
Doval, and while the agenda is unclear,
discussions over the Ukraine conflict
are expected.
Delhi police arrest mother after
infant’s body found in microwave
A day after a two-month-old girl was
found dead inside a microwave oven at
her home in South Delhi’s Chirag Dilli,
the police on Tuesday said they
arrested her mother for allegedly
smothering the baby and hiding her
body.
On Monday, family members of the
infant reported that she was missing,
and later told police that they had
found her in an old microwave oven in
a storeroom on the terrace. The baby’s
body was sent for a postmortem on
Tuesday and doctors told police that
she was possibly smothered to death.
The Kashmir Files director gets
Y-category security cover
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has
given Y-category (Central Reserve
Police Force) security to Mr Vivek
Agnihotri, director of the controversial
film The Kashmir Files, after he
received death threats.
The film presents the events that led
to the exodus of Pandits from the
Kashmir Valley in the 1990s after
many were killed by terrorists.
200 injured after makeshift
football stand collapses
At least 200 people were injured, five
of them serious, after a temporary
gallery collapsed during a football
match in Poongod in Kerala’s
Malappuram district on Saturday.
Officials said overcrowding caused
the makeshift stand to collapse
minutes before the game started.
India fares poorly in World
Happiness Report
India continued to fare poorly in the
world happiness index, albeit moving
up the ranks from 139 to 136.
In South Asia, only Taliban-ruled
Afghanistan fared worse, ranking last
on the index of 146 countries. Nepal
ranked 84, Bangladesh 94, Pakistan
121 and Sri Lanka 127.
125-year-old yoga guru conferred
Padma Shri
Swami Sivananda, a yoga guru, was
conferred the Padma Shri, India’s
fourth-highest civilian award, by
President Ram Nath Kovind.
The 125-year-old received a
standing ovation as he walked bare
feet in the palatial Darbar Hall of
Rashtrapati Bhavan. He prostrated
before Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and the President before
receiving the award.
Kerala businessman first in India
to own luxury helicopter
Mr B. Ravi Pillai, chairman of the RP
Group of companies, has become the
first person in India to own an Airbus
H 145 helicopter worth Rs100 crore
($18m).
The helicopter will be be used to
ferry guests across tourist destinations
in the state in which the 68-year-old
Malayali owns a string of luxury
hotels.
Wind instrument Narasinghapettai
Nagaswarm gets GI tag
Tamil Nadu’s traditional wind
instrument Narasinghapettai
Nagaswaram, made by traditional
village artisans of Kumbakonam, got
the prestigious Geographical Indication
(GI) tag.
GI is a sign used on products that
have a specific geographical origin and
possess qualities or a reputation that
are due to that origin.
Artisans based in Narasinganpetti
village make the Nagaswaram through
specialised processing skills inherited
from their forefathers.
Autistic girl swims from Lanka to
India in 13 hrs
A 13-year-old girl from Mumbai, who
has Autistic Spectrum Disorder, set a
new record on Sunday by swimming
across the Palk Strait from Sri Lanka’s
Talaimannar to Dhanuskodi in Tamil
Nadu. She swam the 29km in 13 hours
and 10 minutes.
Jiya Rai became the youngest and
fastest female swimmer worldwide to
swim across the Palk Strait.
Bhula Chowdhary held the previous
record by covering the distance in 13
hours and 52 minutes in 2004.
1.5 million tulips in full bloom in Srinagar garden
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Visitors taking a selfie at the
Tulip Garden in Srinagar on
Wednesday when it was
opened to the public.
The garden, which is one
of the biggest in Asia and
has become synonymous
with spring in the Kashmir
valley, features 1.5 million
tulips of different colours.
Flowers of 68 varieties,
including hyacinth, daffodil,
narcissus, muscari and iris,
also adorn the 30-hectare
terraced, picturesque
garden, which is located on
the foothills of the
Zabarwan mountain range
and banks of the majestic
Dal Lake.
A Japanese ornamental
cherry garden is also a part
of the garden’s aesthetic
appeal.
The Tulip Garden also
has ornamental trees like
apricot and almond.
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Editor-in-Chief
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Warren Fernandez
Editor
Jawharilal Rajendran
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V.K. Santosh Kumar
Channel Excellence Lead
Alicia Luke
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March25,2022
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INDIA
Zomato will
target busy
urban areas to
serve products
that can be
quickly
prepared and
delivered.
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Indian food-delivery giant Zomato is facing a back-
lash on social media for its plans to roll out a
10-minute food service that critics say raises road-
safety risks for delivery riders.
CEO Deepinder Goyal said in a post on Monday
the service “Zomato Instant” would rely on a
densely located network of so-called food “finishing
stations”, which will house bestseller items from
restaurants and use a sophisticated demand predic-
tion algorithm.
“Nobody in the world has so far delivered hot
and fresh food in under 10 minutes at scale,” Goyal
wrote on LinkedIn and Twitter. “We were eager to
be the first.”
Initially, Zomato will target densely-populated
urban areas to serve low average order value (AOV)
products that can be quickly prepared and delivered.
The move to venture into the instant model was
driven by consumer preference, Mr Goyal said.
“Customers are increasingly demanding quicker
answers to their needs. They don’t want to plan, and
they don’t want to wait. In fact, sorting restaurants
by fastest delivery time is one of the most used
features on the Zomato app,” he said.
Within hours, Zomato’s announcement sparked a
flurry of responses.
A lawmaker questioned the business model, while
executives raised concerns about rider safety on
Indian roads.
Zomato, which counts China’s Ant Group as an
investor, did not respond to requests for comment.
Many on social media urged a rethink, saying
food can wait as even ambulances in India take
longer to reach patients.
Some on LinkedIn questioned the need for such a
model.
“I don’t want to eat food that someone has
brought to me while keeping his life at risk,” wrote
Mr Gunjan Rastogi, a researcher at India’s RSB
Insights & Analytics.
Mr Karti P. Chidambaram, an Indian lawmaker,
tweeted: “This is absurd! It’s going to put undue
pressure on the delivery personnel.”
The Zomato CEO’s Monday announcement
started by saying: “We will start with a clarifica-
tion... we do not put any pressure on delivery
partners.”
After it failed to convince many, Mr Goyal issued
another tweet on Tuesday stressing that delivery will
be “safe” for riders who will face no penalties,
urging people to understand the model “before the
outrage”.
Quick commerce grocery startups in India have
been a rage with SoftBank-backed Blinkit and rival
Zepto expanding rapidly.
Reuters reported in January that delivery bikers
said they faced pressure to meet deadlines, which
often led to speeding, for fear of being rebuked by
store managers.
Critics say risks are too high on Indian roads.
Even in cities, most roads are riddled with
potholes and motorists violate basic rules.
The World Bank says India has a death every four
minutes on its roads and crashes kill around 150,000
people each year.
Nevertheless, many customers have been hooked
to quick commerce grocery services to meet their
instant shopping needs.
“I would be happy to get my food in 10 minutes,”
said LinkedIn user Sonu Sekharan.
Reuters
Zomato faces heat over 10-minute delivery
INDIA
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March25,2022
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