Plaza Sing Nando’s, Jurong Point Carl’s Jr & 6 Other F&B Outlets Closed for Breaching COVID-19 Measures

One of Singaporeans’ favourite pastimes, eating good food while sharing it with friends and family, remain hindered as the pandemic rages on.

Currently, as dine-in restrictions remain strictly in place, no more than two people can dine-in together if they’re not from the same household.

And some respite was offered when it was announced that we could return to dining in groups of five from 12 July, Monday.

Sadly, right ahead of that, some F&B outlets have failed to stick to these measures and won’t be able to remain open to catch the returned crowd.

21 F&B Outlets Breached COVID-19 Measures

Last week, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) stepped up their enforcement checks on F&B outlets to ensure safety measures were being complied with in this difficult period.

This will still continue even after restrictions have been eased, they said on 9 July.

As a result, they found a total of 21 outlets that breached several of the restrictions and dealt with them severely.

Such breaches included failing to maintain a 1m distance between customers’ tables, allowing groups to intermingle and seating groups of people who aren’t from the same household at different tables.

Closures were ordered for eight of the outlets who were caught and were forced to close for 10 days, some even beyond the ease of restrictions next Monday, until 17 July.

The unfortunate outlets are:

• Nando’s at Plaza Singapura
• Carl’s Jr at Jurong Point shopping mall
• Food Junction at Bugis Junction
• Club Diamond at Oriental Plaza
• 3 Kings Pub at Lucky Plaza
• Grand Shanghai at King’s Centre
• Sakunthala’s Restaurant at Dunlop Street
• The Bravery at Amoy Street.

Additionally, 13 other outlets were fined S$1,000 for the breaches of not maintaining 1m between tables and playing recorded music.

Although it sounds a little funny, the reasoning behind the ban on playing recorded music comes as the risk of saliva spreading will increase when customers have to speak louder, all while unmasked.

Say goodbye to your JBL speakers, F&B outlets.

They also found and fined 20 people S$300 each for dining in groups of more than two people at various outlets.

Three workers at these outlets were also slammed with a S$300 fine for not wearing masks.

MSE added that since dining-in remains a high-risk activity, they hoped for the public to continue observing safe distancing measures and good hygiene at F&B outlets despite the easing of restrictions.

Many People Breached Measures At Parks, Too

If you’re a regular park-goer, you’d probably have seen one too many large groups gathered together under the premise of exercising separately.

Unfortunately for such people, enforcement checks from 2 to 4 July found 33 people breaching COVID-19 measures and facing a fine.

They failed to wear a mask when engaging in non-strenuous activities and were gathering in groups larger than the permitted size of five.

Some group sizes even went up to 11 and 13 people at Kallang Riverside Park.

Additionally, 900 advisories were also issued to people who were found breaching those measures.

“NParks will temporarily close access to some parks, sections of beaches, lawns and facilities – such as hard courts, shelters and car parks – when these areas get too crowded or where people remain non-compliant with safe management measures, to ensure that the parks remain safe for everyone,” MSE said.

Individual offenders may be fined up to S$300 for their first offence, while operators won’t get so lucky even if it’s their first offence and may face closures.

Higher fines will be given to repeat offenders with the chance of prosecution in court as well.

Featured Image: Facebook (Grand Shanghai Restaurant; Nando’s)