BCA’s ban on exercise and dog-walking in condominiums makes no sense

I refer to the report on the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) clarification that residents may exercise or walk their dogs in public areas that are freely accessible, but not in condominiums' common areas during the circuit breaker (“No exercising, dog walking within condominiums' common areas: BCA”; April 28).

BCA explained that this is because “it can get crowded in these spaces, and there is difficulty in enforcing safe distancing”.

Such a policy does not make sense and the rationale cited by BCA holds little water.

First, to access public spaces, dogs would have to traverse the common condominium grounds, thus rendering the rule moot in practice.

Second, there is no such rule for public and landed housing estates. Surely there are such estates in Singapore where the common areas can get just as crowded as those in condominiums, if not more.

Yet residents are allowed to exercise and walk their dogs in these estates’ common areas.

Conversely, there are condominiums where common areas are less crowded than those in public or landed housing estates.  

Clearly, the first-order principle that BCA should consider is observance of safe distancing. I cannot see how its policy on condominiums upholds this principle. 

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