SINGAPORE - More than 200 people were caught by the authorities for not complying with safe distancing measures on Monday (April 20), while 80 did not wear a mask outside their homes.

Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli gave this update on his Facebook page on Monday night, saying that nine of these people breached the measures for a second time and will face fines of $1,000 each.

"If these are acts of defiance and irresponsibility, they clearly undermine the efforts that everyone else has been making. What will it take to get them to understand that they are putting everyone's safety at stake," wrote Mr Masagos.

In his Facebook post, he also tried to show how contagious Covid-19 can be, as well as how densely populated cities with close social interaction, like Singapore, are particularly at risk.

Citing the World Health Organization, he noted that a carrier of Covid-19 is estimated to infect two other people, who can then go on to infect another two people.

And in one month, one person could potentially infect a thousand people, if left unchecked.

Reinforcing the importance of staying home and abiding by safe distancing measures, Mr Masagos said: “They may entail some inconvenience, but the daily news reports of dire situations in other countries, including second wave infections, are sobering reminders of the risks and high stakes of this pandemic, as are surprising and worrying facts about the virus we discover on a daily basis from the global scientific community.”

He added: “Together, we decide the outcome of the Covid-19 crisis. Nobody else.”

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