Thinking of heading up north today for some goody bak kut teh?
Well, you might want to plan ahead.
While there’s always a jam at the causeway, this has worsened recently due to the enhanced health screenings.
And we’re not talking about one health screening but two, so you can bet that your bak kut teh, which is supposed to be your lunch, might be your dinner instead.
Here are the deets.
Causeway Jam Became Worse Due to Health Screenings on Both Checkpoints
While today isn’t the first weekend of DORSCON Orange, it’s the first weekend whereby the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased quite a bit in Singapore and Malaysia.
Singapore now has 67 confirmed cases while Malaysia has 19 confirmed cases.
And so, according to reports, yesterday’s traffic has been congested even on off-peak hours.
A Singaporean who wanted to enter JB yesterday at 1pm was shocked to see congestion. Usually, the congestion on a Friday would start at 3pm.
Only the Traffic God can confirm what contributed to the abnormal congestion, but it’s not hard to see the real reason: Most attributed it to the health screenings on both sides.
Every checkpoint now has a health screening station for good reasons.
While the system uses some high-tech camera to check people’s temperature, people with high temperature would be pulled to a side.
The Woodlands causeway is the busiest border crossing in the world, with 350,000 travellers daily, so you can bet that there would be someone with a fever in that 350,000.
Lorry Drivers in Malaysia Worried
Apart from us who just want some goody bak kut teh, some people have legit concerns.
Lorry drivers who come in to Singapore daily are worried that if they are caught with a high temperature, they might be isolated or quarantined. According to the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Associations of Malaysia adviser, there has been no new instructions from Singapore to Malaysia yet.
Now, as you salute those medical heroes, do also remember that there are some people who’re risking their lives to bring durians from Malaysia to Singapore.
