Selected school sport facilities to reopen for public use from Nov 21

SINGAPORE: Selected school sports facilities under the dual-use scheme will reopen for public bookings during the upcoming year-end school holidays, said Sport Singapore and the Ministry of Education in a news release on Wednesday (Nov 18).

The public use of the facilities was suspended in March in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

From Nov 21 to Dec 27, members of the public will be able to access 50 chargeable fields and 119 indoor sports halls located in 135 primary and secondary schools, said the news release.

Bookings can be made through the ActiveSG app, with immediate effect.

“The intent of reopening dual-use scheme facilities during the year-end school holidays is to offer more spaces for members of the public to exercise, while ensuring that the safety of our players, as well as of school students and staff, are not compromised,” said Mr Sng Hock Lin, chief of ActiveSG, Sport SG.

The use of other facilities under the scheme - such as free-to-play fields and courts not within indoor sports halls - remains suspended.

SAFE MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Individual who use the facilities will have to adhere to safe management measures such as SafeEntry and temperature taking.

Intermingling and cross-playing between different groups will not be allowed, and the person who booked the facility must be present during the time of play, said SportSG and MOE.

"While we want to encourage everyone to continue leading an active lifestyle, we urge all to do so safely and responsibly, and to remain vigilant," said Mr Sng.

"The underpinning principle of the resumption of physical activities and sports under strict safe management measures is to provide a safe environment for people and minimise community transmissions," he added.

Strong action will be taken against individuals who fail to comply with the safe management measures, including “barring them from the use of all dual-use scheme and ActiveSG facilities”, said SportSG.

READ: Singapore may enter Phase 3 before end of the year if ‘all the stars are aligned’: Lawrence Wong

READ: COVID-19: Singapore's Phase 3 reopening could last a year or more, says Gan Kim Yong

USE OF INDOOR SPORTS HALLS

For a game of badminton, a maximum of five persons per court will be allowed entry into the indoor sports hall, including an instructor or coach. However, only a maximum of four players will be allowed to play on the court at any one time.

For other sports such as netball, volleyball, basketball and floorball, a maximum of five persons will be allowed per court at any one time.

CHARGEABLE FIELDS

For chargeable fields, a maximum of 50 persons will be allowed on each field, with activities conducted in groups of five.

For soccer play, up to two groups of five will be allowed on the field at any time.

Groups must keep 3m apart from one another.

READ: COVID-19: Singapore to pilot pre-event rapid testing from mid-October so more events can safely resume

FACILITY WARDENS

A safe distancing ambassador and a facility warden will be stationed at each facility to ensure safe management measures are observed, said SportSG and MOE.

“In addition to the regular cleaning routine, all touch points within the facilities will be wiped down at the end of each day of public use.

“The facilities will also be thoroughly cleaned before the start of the school term in January 2021,” they added.

Given the evolving COVID-19 situation, SportSG and MOE said they will jointly review the feasibility of extending public use of these facilities beyond Dec 27 and into 2021.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram