More Checks Will be Made at Coffee Shops Where Many Unvaccinated Seniors Gather

By
Shawn Ambrose
-

If you’re fully vaccinated, today would just be another Wednesday (13 Oct). But for unvaccinated folks, today is doomsday. 

See, from today, unvaccinated individuals cannot enter malls, large standalone stores, or attractions.

More importantly, they won’t be permitted to dine at hawker centres and coffee shops.

While there will be a week-long grace period until 19 Oct before the new rules will be fully enforced at malls, this won’t be the case for hawker centres and coffee shops.

Here’s what you need to know:

More Checks Will be Made at Coffee Shops Where Many Unvaccinated Seniors Gather

When officers are doing their checks at public eateries, they will approach diners at random to check their vaccination status.

According to the current guidelines, only vaccinated people are allowed to dine out, and only in groups of up to two.

Vaccinated diners will simply have to show proof of their vaccination status on the TraceTogether (TT) app or allow the officer to scan their TT token.

As for unvaccinated diners who shouldn’t be there, the officers will record their particulars and remind them of the rules. If caught again, they will be issued a fine.

According to Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, there will also be more frequent checks at coffee shops and hawker centres where many unvaccinated seniors are believed to be gathering.

She explained that this is to prevent unvaccinated seniors from mingling in the community, thereby protecting them from COVID-19 infection and severe illness.

Inconvenient to Check Every Single Diner

As the authorities noted last week, checking every single diner’s vaccinations status would cause great inconvenience not just to diners but those buying takeaways who are in a rush.

I need my steaming hot Prata, and I need it now.

This is why the authorities are taking this “selective and pragmatic” approach, as Ms Fu described it.

At coffee shops, however, operators must designate a “fixed point” where staff members can check the vaccination status of diners. This could be a drinks stall, for example.

There’ll be no need to limit diners to one entry and exit point, however.

“If (the operators) are aware of diners who are dining in but not vaccinated, we urge that the operators would also remind them not to do so and to quickly leave the premises,” Ms Fu said.

Exceptions for Unvaccinated Individuals Entering Malls

As for entering malls, the authorities recently clarified that there are a few groups of unvaccinated individuals who may be exempt from the rule:

  • patients who require medical attention from facilities located in malls
  • unvaccinated caregivers who need to drop off or pick up children from preschools and childcare centres located in malls
  • children aged 12 and under
  • unvaccinated individuals who have recovered from COVID-19
  • unvaccinated individuals who have a negative pre-event test result

These groups will need to show proof before entering, of course. You can read more about that here. 

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]