‘I have breathing problem’: Caught with masks down, this is what some say to safe distancing ambassadors

SINGAPORE — Some loiter around public areas. Then there were those who pull down their masks, saying they have a “breathing problem” or that the weather was too hot.

“But when they see you from far, they would put the mask on,” said Mr John Tan, 59.

He is one of the so called “safe distancing ambassadors” who have been prowling the streets since Singapore started its circuit breaker measures on April 7, making sure that the public observes safe distancing measures.

They came from all walks of life. Mr Tan was one of 56 tour guides who was roped in by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). 

The STB worked with the Society of Tourist Guides Singapore to redeploy tour guides to help with safe distancing checks.

Apart from them, there is a larger group of 3,000 people from various agencies who have been deployed by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources in public housing estates.

Most whom TODAY spoke to on Thursday (April 16) said that they had not encountered any major problems, only some resistance.

For Mr Tan, who patrols around Chinatown, his biggest challenge is the elderly.

“They will show their unhappiness as they’ve been (living in the area) for very long,” he said.

“We just tell them: ‘It’s for your own health, please try to adapt’.”

Mr Howard Lim, also a tour guide who is now policing Little India, said some chefs in food and beverage stalls were initially reluctant to wear masks.

“They said it was quite hot to wear a mask,” the 59-year-old said. “But as we explained to them the rationale, I think they accepted it and they became quite cooperative.”

Ms Catherine Ross, another tour guide, said some of the elderly cleaners she met on her rounds in Orchard Road malls did not know how to wear the masks properly.

“So we try to fit it on them, and speak to them in their dialect… This is how we break the ice with them.”

The 53-year-old can speak Hokkien, Cantonese and Malay.

BEARING THE BRUNT

The ambassadors seemed to have better luck with businesses, when it comes to compliance with the measures.

Mr Goh Hor, who hails from the construction industry, spends his day conducting checks on 60 to 80 shop units, ensuring that the ones that remained open are deemed as providing essential services.

The 57-year-old has yet to encounter an errant shop owner, but the disgruntled ones he had seen many.

Mr Goh said: “The shopkeepers will tell me: ‘Because of these measures we have no business, it’s very tough for us’. But I will say: ‘It’s not only you, it affects all the shops’.”

Sometimes, these ambassadors get mistaken as enforcement officers. But unlike these officers, or policemen, the ambassadors do not have the power to issue warnings or fines.

Mr Lim recalled how during the Tamil New Year on Tuesday, many shops in Little India were crowded with people.

“When we reached there and prompted them, they automatically spread out,” he said.

The ambassadors typically work about six- to eight-hour shifts.

Given that they could not work in their regular jobs in the current climate, they appreciate the fact that they have something to do.

Ms Ross, in fact, sees similarities between her role and her job as a tour guide, which she has been doing for the past 30 years.

“Being a tourist guide, we have to make people feel comfortable… It just comes naturally, you don’t have to put on an act,” she said.

Mr Lim gets the sense that people appreciate what the ambassadors do, too.

“When we go around during the afternoon and we perspire, some shops will ask whether we want to drink or offer us food,” he said. “We are quite touched.”