Taxi driver Tony Foo, 36, was coming to terms with the decline in his income over recent weeks when another problem arose. Renovations for the resale flat he was planning to move into were suddenly halted on Tuesday (April 7) when the circuit breaker measures came into full effect.

With the buyers of his current home refusing to delay their April 30 move-in date, Mr Foo would have to turn to hotel rooms when the time comes.

Mr Foo told TODAY that he reached out to HDB on Monday for help, and was initially told that nothing can be done unless he and the buyers come to a mutual agreement. In view of Mr Shanmugam's announcement, he was offered the extension till Thursday.

But he said the extension would have been unhelpful to him. “Most of the workers from my contractor’s company returned to Malaysia on Saturday and Sunday. Even if I (had) wanted to extend the renovations, there’s no one left to do the work," he said.