10 Updates About the Re-Opening from 21 June Whereby Dine-In is Limited to 2 Pax

Just as we all think that dine-in would be part of history until 2028, today happened.

Two days ago, Minister Lawrence Wong, co-chair of the task force tackling COVID-19 in Singapore, said that they would need to re-evaluate the Stage 2 reopening after more COVID-19 community cases were reported, but we all interpreted it as this: “No dine-in, no gym, no reopen.”

Well, we interpreted wrong because dine-in is still going to be allowed, albeit not the way we expected.

Here are 10 updates the task force made today that you should know about.

Dine-In Allowed in Pairs; Gyms Also Allowed in Pairs

F&B establishments will be able to resume dining-in from 21 June 2021 in group sizes of up to 2 persons. This means that a group of more than 2 persons who are not from the same household is not allowed to dine-in together at F&B establishments, even if they are split across multiple tables.

To further mitigate the risk of transmission from patrons talking loudly, recorded music will not be allowed in F&B establishments. This is in addition to the current restrictions on videos/TV screening and live entertainment at F&B establishments. F&B establishments are also reminded to strictly observe safe distancing of at least 1 metre between groups of diners, of no more than two persons per group, to lower the risk of transmission.

Enforcement will be stepped up and we will take firmer enforcement action for any breaches of safe management measures. Patrons must keep their masks on at all times, except when eating or drinking.

Indoor Mask-Off Sports / Exercise Activities to Resume

Gyms and fitness studios may resume indoor mask-off sports/ exercise activities in group sizes of up to 2 persons, and in classes of up to 30 persons including the instructor, with safe distancing of at least 2m between individuals and 3m between groups.

For mask-on activities and outdoor mask-off activities, these can continue in groups of no more than 5 persons, in classes of up to 30 persons including the instructor. SportSG will release more details on this.

Group Sizes in F&B Establishments & Gym Might Increase

For both F&B establishments and gyms / fitness studio, the group size will increase to 5 from mid-July, and MOH will announce the exact date later.

If we keep the number of cases under control, that is.

Now, please don’t confuse this group size with the social gathering group size: that is still at a limit of 5 since masks are worn for those gatherings.

Work from Home is STILL the Default Arrangement

Well, at least there’s a piece of good news (for employees): Work at home is still the default work arrangement.

Employers are reminded to ensure the practice continues, and for employees that need to come to the workplace, to stagger their start times and implement flexible working hours.

There should continue to be no cross-deployment of workers to multiple worksites. For workplaces, social gatherings continue to be disallowed, and work-related events (e.g. product launches, townhalls) should continue to disallow F&B.

More Financial Support

With these updates (that should ease by mid-July…hopefully), the Government will extend the current enhancements to the Jobs Support Scheme for affected sectors by 3 weeks before tapering it down to 10% for another 2 weeks.

To provide targeted support to hawkers who are self-employed, the Government will extend the subsidies for fees for table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing services, and provide rental waivers, till mid-July 2021 for stallholders in centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators.

To help other workers who remain affected by the extended tightened safe management measures, the Government will also extend the COVID-19 Recovery Grant (Temporary) (CRG-T) until 31 July 2021. Existing CRG-T recipients who continue to require assistance can also apply for a second tranche of CRG-T support in July. The Ministry of Social and Family Development will share more details.

Phased Roll Out of Regular Fast and Easy Tests (FET) for Staff Involved in Higher-Risk Activities

As previously announced, MOH will require all staff who work at settings with unmasked clients/patrons, or where there is prolonged contact between individuals, to be placed on a regular FET regime, using tests such as ART.

The regular 14-day FET requirement for staff at these settings will be made mandatory from around mid-July 2021, and most of the FET can be done through a system of self-swabs supervised by the employer.

To support establishments in their efforts to get started on FET, MOH has  set up training programmes that companies can leverage to train supervisors in their establishments to supervise ART self-swabs for their staff. These supervisor training programmes will be provided at no cost to these establishments for the next 3 months.

ART kits will also be made available to establishments for these employer supervised self-swabs.  Some F&B establishments have already sent their employees for training and are ready to implement regular testing progressively from 21 June 2021.

Testing for Businesses That Cannot Conduct Their Own Tests

For small businesses that are unable to organise the supervised self-swabs on their own, they can proceed to Quick Test Centres (QTCs) to support those who need to be tested.  MOH will start with one each at Tekka and Yishun which will be operational from 21 June 2021.

More QTCs will be progressively set up. To further minimise the risks of transmission in these settings, the Government will also facilitate earlier vaccination of individuals who work in these settings.

Resumption of Visits to Residential Care Homes Serving Elderly

Visits to residential care homes serving elderly had been suspended from 5 June 2021 through 20 June 2021 in light of the recent cases of community transmission.

Physical visits will resume from 21 June 2021, but visitors will need to take a FET at the place of visit and test negative prior to entry.

SafeEntry Gateway Check-Out Boxes to be Deployed

Kee-chiu if you’ve never checked out when you leave any premises, leading MOH to think that you live in Don Don Donki since the start of the TraceTogether programme.

*Everyone kee-chiu*

Well, there’s now an easier way to check out: SafeEntry Gateway (SEGW) Check-Out Boxes will also be rolled out progressively at venues with high footfall to facilitate SE check-outs. This follows public feedback from SEGW users who want to perform SE check-out, but are unable to do so currently. This will help to facilitate more precise contact tracing efforts.

SEGW Check-Out Boxes will be deployed at venues with higher throughput of visitors (e.g. malls, hospitals and polyclinics), and places where individuals are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods with masks off (e.g. dine-in F&B outlets and gyms). Eligible businesses will be notified and will receive their SEGW Check-Out Boxes in the coming weeks.

If you’re still using QR codes to scan in and check out, it’s time to realise that you live in 2021 now, not 2020.

Health Alert SMSes

In the past, we usually joke that the only SMSes we receive are from MINDEF, our telco and loan sharks.

It’s time to add one more contact to our list: MOH.

MOH will be sending “Health Alerts” via SMS to individuals who have visited hotspots on the same days as any infected COVID-19 persons and may have been exposed to the virus.

These individuals will be required to undergo mandatory testing at designated testing centres and stay isolated until they receive their results.

While the risk of infection is lower if they were to test negative, they should continue to limit their interactions with others as an added precaution and restrict their activities to only those which are essential. In particular those who need to go to work (i.e. cannot work from home) will be allowed to do so.

However, they must comply strictly with all the safe management measures at the workplace. Furthermore, at the testing centres, they will be given DIY test kits, which they will need to self-administer at home over the subsequent days to confirm that they are not infected.

Suffice to say, I don’t feel like leaving my home now.

The task force also reminds everyone to get vaccinated. Watch this video to the end to know more about COVID-19 vaccines in Singapore:

Featured Image: YouTube (CNA)