Cycling in the time of covid-19: yay or nay?

In the space of just a week or so, the coronavirus situation seems to have evolved quite dramatically. Here in Singapore, the alert level hasn’t been raised to red, nor are the authorities using the term “lockdown” to describe the measures that are being put in place. But increasingly, it does feel like a soft lockdown of sorts is being put into place.

Some of the new measures that were put in place in the past week:

• More work from home arrangements: Employers should put in place measures to reduce close physical interactions amongst employees and should use tele-conferencing instead of physical meetings wherever possible. Where employees can perform their work by telecommuting from home, employers must ensure that they do so.
• Public advised to stay home: Just yesterday, the government advised the public to stay home and avoid non-essential trips to malls. Singaporeans have also been advised to buy food and groceries online and to reduce physical interaction with others.
• Stricter safe distancing measures: Gatherings outside of work and school are to be limited to 10 persons or fewer; physical distancing of at least 1m to be observed in settings where interactions are non-transient (like food courts and eateries). Related diners can sit together at the same table but tables should be spaced out.
• Closure of entertainment venues and reduced operating capacity for other public venues: Bars, night clubs, discos, cinemas, theatres, karaoke outlets etc to be closed. Operators of retail malls, museums and attractions etc to take measures to reduce the density of crowds.
• Events and mass gatherings to be deferred or cancelled: Conferences, exhibitions, festivals, concerts, sporting events, trade fairs etc to be deferred or cancelled, regardless of size.

With all these measures advising people to stay home and avoid physical interaction with others, can or should we still cycle?

Some countries have answered with a definitive no. As part of nationwide lockdown measures, countries like France and Spain have recently imposed bans or other restrictions on cycling outdoors. The rationale behind some of these bans or restrictions seems to be that if cyclists were to get into accidents, this would take up valuable medical resources in a time of great scarcity.

In Singapore, the authorities thus far have not imposed a similar ban on cycling. This means we can still cycle outdoors, as long as we cycle alone or in groups of fewer than 10 people.

Personally, I’m glad that cycling outdoors hasn’t been banned. Staying home during the covid-19 pandemic is important, but so is exercise and keeping healthy. Cycling is a great way for cooped-up office workers who are adjusting to the WFH life to get a breather, taste some fresh air and alleviate some of that cabin fever. It’s good for both physical and mental well-being; it gets our hearts pumping and helps boost our immunity too.

Plus, going on solo rides is great for social distancing. Cycling to the supermarket for grocery runs instead of taking public transport means reducing the chance of transmission by transient contact on the bus or MRT. You know that slight sense of anxiety you get when someone on the MRT starts coughing or the person next to you starts sniffling? You want to inch away but the train is just too packed. And hold on a minute – did that person just sneeze in your direction?? Germs everywhere!!! Well, all that can be avoided when it’s just you and your bike and you can happily maintain a healthy distance away from any sniffly human beings you may come across.

Such empty. Much nice.

With all that said, it’s of course more important than ever to ensure that we cycle safely. For one thing, now is probably not the time to be exploring new uncharted paths nor to put our own limits to the test. If anything, this is in fact the time to stick to PCNs, cycling paths and routes that you’re familiar with as far as possible. Stay prudent when cycling and continue observing cycling safety regulations (you can read more on cycling safety here).

So, I say we continue cycling outdoors while we still can. What do you say?

tldr: virus is virus but still can cycle, just be safe la