Covid-19: 3 F&B outlets ordered shut for 10 days for not checking vaccination status of patrons, allowing unvaccinated diners

SINGAPORE — Three eateries have been ordered to close temporarily for not checking the vaccination status of their customers before granting them entry and for allowing non-vaccinated individuals to dine within their premises.

This the first time food-and-beverage (F&B) outlets have been suspended for breaching vaccine-related dining regulations that kicked in earlier this month, after stepped-up enforcement by the authorities. 

In a statement on Friday (Aug 27), the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said that enforcement officers had checked nearly 700 premises and more than 2,500 individuals for adherence to the vaccine-related rules over the past week.

“Enforcement checks will continue to be stepped up to guard against community transmission in higher-risk settings such as F&B premises, even as Singapore continues to reopen gradually,” it said.

Early this month, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that fully vaccinated individuals may meet in groups of up to five and dine at F&B establishments.

Unvaccinated persons may dine at eateries if they have a negative pre-event test result from an MOH-approved Covid-19 test provider within the last 24 hours or if they have recovered from Covid-19 and can provide a valid pre-event test exemption notice.

People who are not vaccinated are allowed to eat out at hawker centres and coffee shops but up to a maximun of two at a table.

MSE said that the three eateries taken to task were:

No Name Bar (76 Prinsep Street #02-01) 

It delayed the entry of enforcement officers onto its premises, failed to ensure customers within the premises adhered to the permitted group size, failed to check the vaccination status of customers before granting them entry and did not implement SafeEntry contact tracing for customers. 

For these multiple breaches, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has ordered it to close for 10 days from Aug 26 to Sept 4.

Authentic Mun Chee Kee King of Pig’s Organ Soup (207 Jalan Besar Road) 

It failed to ensure that diners without a cleared vaccination status did not enter or remain within its premises. 

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has ordered it to close for 10 days from Aug 23 to Sept 1.

Bigg Boss (40 Clive Street) 

It failed to ensure that people without a cleared status did not enter or remain within its premises. STB has ordered the operator to close for 10 days from Aug 26 to Sept 4.

The authorities also ordered seven F&B and entertainment outlets to close for a period of 10 to 30 days for failing to comply with Covid-19 regulations.

These include playing music, failing to minimise interaction between staff members and customers, allowing the sale and consumption of alcohol after 10.30pm, and failing to ensure a safe distance of at least 1m between groups of customers. Music canot be played to minimise people talking loudly above the noise.

Another F&B and entertainment outlet, as well as 10 individuals, were issued composition fines for similar breaches, such as gathering in groups larger than the permitted group size while dining at F&B outlets, failure to ensure a safe distance of at least 1m between seated customers, and failing to wear a mask when not eating or drinking. 

The eight F&B and entertainment places were:

Bar-beque (46 Prinsep Street #02-01) 

It failed to ensure customers within the premises adhere to the permitted group size and was ordered to close for 10 days from Aug 26 to Sept 4.

Haru (3 Magazine Road #01-01) 

It delayed the entry of enforcement officers and provided false information that there were no customers there. Since it was a repeat offender, URA ordered it to close for 30 days from Aug 27 to Sept 25.

Beer Belly Lok Lok Bar (11 Irving Place #03-01, Tai Seng Point) 

It was found to have allowed the sale or consumption of alcohol after 10.30pm and played music. It has been ordered to close for 20 days from Aug 25 to Sept 13.

Chips Cafe and Bar (21 Cuscaden Road, #01-02, Ming Arcade) 

It failed to ensure safe distancing of at least 1m between seated customers. A repeat offender, it will have to close for 20 days from Aug 21 to Sept 9.

Glassy Junction Pub & Restaurant (37 Sam Leong Road) 

It failed to minimise interaction between staff members and customers, and was found playing music on its premises. A repeat offender, it will have to close for 30 days from Aug 21 to Sept 19.

Lotus@Norris (20 Norris Road) 

It failed to ensure group gatherings were within the permitted group size. It also did not ensure there were SafeEntry and temperature checks for customers entering the premises, before the lifting of the temperature screening requirement on Aug 19. STB has ordered it to close for 10 days from Aug 22 to Aug 31.

Thalappakatti Restaurant (195 Kitchener Road) 

It did not minimise physical interaction between seated customers and will have to close for 10 days from Aug 27 to Sept 5.

TCC (360 Orchard Road, #01-01, International Building) 

The restaurant was fined S$2,000 for failing to ensure at least 1m safe distancing between seated customers. This was its second offence.

In its statement, MSE stressed that F&B operators and patrons should adhere strictly to the vaccine-differentiated safety regulations. 

“These measures are in place to safeguard our community. The Government will continue to step up checks and take firm enforcement action,” it said.