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Singapore delays National Day parade amid COVID-19 surge
The Defense Ministry on Thursday evening announced the annual parade's postponement until Aug. 21, after the latest round of social distancing measures imposed to curb the recent surge in coronavirus cases is expected to be lifted.
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Singapore's Marina Bay skyline, illuminated at night, Feb 18. (The Straits Times/ANN/-)
S
ingapore has postponed its National Day parade scheduled for Aug. 9 amid mounting public concern over a new wave of COVID-19 infections in the city-state.
The Defense Ministry on Thursday evening announced the annual parade's postponement until Aug. 21, after the latest round of social distancing measures imposed to curb the recent surge in coronavirus cases is expected to be lifted.
A small ceremonial parade will still be held on the anniversary of Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965.
The postponement came amid mounting criticism of the plan to hold the parade on social media, with people saying it clashed with the demand for citizens to abide by strict restrictions on their activities.
A petition drive on Change.org calling for the parade to be canceled had attracted over 39,000 signatures as of Friday morning.
"With the rising cases of COVID-19, the continuation of this public event does not make any sense. This event is clearly non-essential during a pandemic," says the petition.
Read also: Singapore reports 88 new local COVID-19 cases Sunday, highest in 11 months
A National Day parade has been held every year since 1966 to mark Singapore's independence. Due to the pandemic, last year saw a scaled-down ceremonial parade with only about 200 personnel from the military and police taking part.
Singapore has since mid-July seen virus outbreaks at karaoke lounges and nightclubs as well as a fishery port, prompting the government to tighten restrictions on Thursday, including a ban on dining out and gatherings of more than two people.
