Covid-19: Koufu trials plastic table shields to protect diners at foodcourts

SINGAPORE — Fifty plastic table shields will be installed and tested at the Koufu foodcourt in Thomson Plaza in a bid to curb the transmission of Covid-19 between diners when dining-in is eventually allowed. 

In the next phase of Singapore’s economy reopening, dining-in will be allowed but in groups of no more than five. 

In a press release on Wednesday (June 10), Koufu’s chief operating officer Choo Teck Guan said that the month-long trial will test the effectiveness of the shield and operational issues such as maintenance and cleaning.

The shields are made of 3mm-thick clear acrylic and are customisable for tables of different shapes and sizes. 

Two versions of the shield that fit rectangular and round tables will be tested.

Shields outfitted for rectangular-shaped tables will feature an aluminium frame holding the acrylic partition that will be clamped onto the table. 

Round tables will be fitted with shields that have a cylindrical aluminium structure with three separate acrylic partitions. 

Both have been designed to make cleaning table tops easy — the rectangular table shields do not touch the table and the bottom of the partitions for round table shields will have cut-outs. 

The shields are trademarked by Moove Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ComfortDelGro which installed shields around taxi drivers in 400 of its cabs in May. 

Moove Media’s chief executive officer Jayne Kwek said that the shields will provide a “safe solution for patrons to eat in comfort and safety”.