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Hawker centres, coffee shops can seat groups of up to 5 fully vaccinated persons without entry checks from March 29

SINGAPORE — To ease the operational burden for eateries, all food-and-beverage (F&B) establishments including hawker centres and coffee shops will be allowed to seat groups of up to five fully vaccinated persons, without the need for vaccination checks at entrances from next Tuesday (March 29).

From March 29, 2022, at eateries where Covid-19 vaccination checks cannot be carried out, random spot-checks will be done instead to ensure that only vaccinated people are dining at these places.
From March 29, 2022, at eateries where Covid-19 vaccination checks cannot be carried out, random spot-checks will be done instead to ensure that only vaccinated people are dining at these places.
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  • From next Tuesday, all food and beverage (F&B) establishments, including hawker centres and coffee shops, can seat groups of up to five fully vaccinated persons, without the need for vaccination status checks at their entrances
  • Live performances will be allowed to resume 
  • The sale and consumption of alcohol after 10.30pm at F&B establishments will also be allowed
  • Vocalisation activities such as congregational singing and cheering by spectators can proceed with masks on

SINGAPORE — To ease the operational burden for eateries, all food-and-beverage (F&B) establishments including hawker centres and coffee shops will be allowed to seat groups of up to five fully vaccinated persons, without the need for vaccination checks at entrances from next Tuesday (March 29).

Where such checks can be done at entrances, the group size limit will be 10, in line with the increase in the size of public social gatherings.

The onus will also be on diners to abide by the rules, the Ministry of Health said in a press release on Thursday.

At eateries where vaccination checks cannot be carried out, random spot-checks will be done instead to ensure that only vaccinated people are dining at these places.

"This will make it easier for the F&B operators who face difficulties in cordoning off their venues and setting up discrete access control points especially hawker centres and coffee shops," MOH said.

RESUMPTION OF LIVE PERFORMANCES

Live performances will be allowed to resume at all venues, including F&B establishments from next Tuesday. Likewise, outdoor live performances and busking can resume.

Groups that are involved in the performances will have to comply with the prevailing Covid-19 regulations, such as keeping group sizes to 10 unmasked persons. 

F&B establishments will also be allowed to screen live broadcast programmes and recorded entertainment. 

In addition, the Government will lift the current ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol after 10.30pm at F&B places. 

SOME VOCALISATION ACTIVITIES ALLOWED

The Government will also allow some vocalisation activities to proceed, so long as masks are worn throughout the activity. 

These activities include congregational singing and chanting at religious services, cheering by audiences, spectators or participants at events, and singing in general settings such as in schools.

SOCIAL EVENTS

Larger-scale social events will also be allowed from next Tuesday. These include gala dinners, corporate dinner-and-dance events, birthday celebrations and anniversaries.

However, MOH said that organisers of these events should still comply with the prevailing public safety rules. For instance, there should be no more than 10 persons a table and there should be safe distancing of 1m between tables.

NIGHTLIFE BUSINESSES

MOH said that it is looking into the safe resumption of nightlife businesses, comprising bars, pubs, karaoke establishments, discotheques and nightclubs.

"These are activities with much higher risks of transmission and where there are generally more difficulties complying with the prevailing safe management measures." 

It added that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Home Affairs will provide an update on the re-opening of the sector in the coming weeks.

CONTACT-TRACING SYSTEMS TO REMAIN

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Thursday during a press conference by the Government's Covid-19 task force that the SafeEntry contact-tracing system will remain because it is "still the easiest way" to check people's vaccination status when they enter any premises. 

Mr Ong was responding to a question from the media on whether SafeEntry and TraceTogether mobile applications are still required given that the authorities have taken a decisive step towards living with Covid-19.

TraceTogether relies on Bluetooth technology and SafeEntry is a nation-wide digital check-in system that logs a person's entry into various venues such as supermarkets or malls. It also reflects a person's vaccination status when they check into a venue.

SafeEntry is embedded in the TraceTogether app.

Mr Ong acknowledged that SafeEntry is "an imposition on businesses" and said that the Government is changing its enforcement efforts such that it can conduct random checks among patrons to check if they are vaccinated, rather than have establishments rely on SafeEntry gateways to check patrons' vaccination status. 

"That way, we think, will help many establishments to step down and reduce the burden of enforcement and administration."

Related topics

Covid-19 F&B TraceTogether SafeEntry vaccination nightlife

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