When Singapore introduced a “circuit breaker” in April to limit the spread of COVID-19, people had questions about the implications.
What would it mean for work and family life? What about school?For some people, one of their main concerns was about something more prosaic.
Bubble tea.
Among them was Mr Xavier Ng, who was alarmed by the news that bubble tea shops would close as part of additional restrictions on food and beverage outlets announced on Apr 21. With the measures set to kick in at midnight that evening, the clock was ticking on the last opportunity for a while to get a fix of his favourite drink.
The 25-year-old interior designer was at work and could not leave immediately. As news spread that bubble tea outlets would be closing, his friends, knowing his 10-year love for the drink, started messaging him.
When he managed to leave work at 9pm, he contacted the owner of Bober Tea, the brand he has been patronising in recent years, to make sure that the outlet in Bishan near his office would still be open when he got there.
To Mr Ng’s relief, it was.
“The thought of having no bubble tea for the next one to two months made me feel like I had to go down to buy it,” he said…
