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Choa Chu Kang cemetery, state-run columbaria to open to public from Friday

A man wearing a protective mask visits a tomb at the Chua Chu Kang cemetery during the Qing Ming Festival amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Singapore on 5 April, 2020. (PHOTO: LightRocket via Getty Images)
A man wearing a protective mask visits a tomb at the Chua Chu Kang cemetery during the Qing Ming Festival amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Singapore on 5 April, 2020. (PHOTO: LightRocket via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — Choa Chu Kang cemetery and all government-managed columbaria will be opened to the public from Friday (19 June), in line with Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening.

Visitors to the facilities should remember to wear masks, and maintain safe distancing of at least one metre at all times, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Tuesday.

“Families who visit in groups are advised to limit the group size to not more than five persons. They are also reminded to keep themselves and others around them safe by observing good hygiene habits, such as binning their litter and keeping our shared spaces clean,” the agency added.

Attendance for cremations, burial services and funeral wakes should be kept to 20 persons or fewer at any one time, up from 10 previously, while maintaining safe distancing of at least one metre at all times.

Those who feel unwell or are sick should stay at home, see a doctor, and avoid visiting the facilities, it said.

As crowds are expected in the early part of Phase 2, visitors are advised to not prolong their stay at the cemetery or columbaria, or visit during the later part of the phase instead.

Families are also advised to avoid bringing along elderly family members or young children.

The Choa Chu Kang cemetery and government-managed columbaria – at Choa Chu Kang, Mandai and Yishun – have been closed since 7 April as part of circuit breaker measures.

(MAP: NEA)
(MAP: NEA)

The NEA also noted that grass cutting of the common areas at Choa Chu Kang cemetery has been affected due to the shortage of workers available to perform such services.

“Despite accelerating the grass cutting plan with the easing of circuit breaker measures since 2 June, not all the burial plots will have had their grass cut by the start of Phase 2 on 19 June,” said the agency.

“We, therefore, seek visitors’ understanding to plan their visits according to the phased completion of grass cutting works.”

If visits have to be made ahead of the completion of grass cutting, visitors are advised to exercise care and caution, by donning protective footwear, and watching out for potholes, cracks, uneven or rough surfaces on pathways or terrain, when moving around or walking within the cemetery compound, it said.

They may also wish to apply insect repellent as a precautionary measure.

Safety advisory signages will be put up at burial blocks that are pending grass cutting services. The NEA said its officers will also be deployed around these burial blocks, to oversee the safety of the visitors.

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