Not only are ghosts hungry this month – so are Singaporeans dying to dine-in again.
Yesterday wasn’t just the depressing day after National Day to mark the end of the long weekend for Singaporeans this year.
It was instead a time of happiness for vaccinated individuals who could finally go out to eat once again.
Yet, with the now clear distinction between vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals when it came to one’s ability to dine-in, there remained some confusion regarding the new rules.
New Rules For Different F&B Establishments
Now tell me, are you one of those who still think that food courts and coffee shops are the same kind of establishments?
Hate to burst your bubble, but they’re actually not.
At least, according to MOH.
According to the relaxed Heightened Alert restrictions, dining in was allowed again starting from 10 Aug, Tuesday.
Groups of up to five were allowed to dine into restaurants, as long as all of them were fully vaccinated – that is, having completed both doses of the vaccine and waiting two more weeks to confirm it.
Meanwhile, groups of up to two were allowed to dine into coffee shops and hawker centres, regardless of vaccination status.
The reasoning behind such a rule was because coffee shops and hawker centres have better ventilation due to them being outdoors and open-air.
Vaccination statuses would be verified via the Trace Together app or a certification from the Ministry of Health (MOH).
So which category do food courts actually fall in here?
Miscommunication At Kopitiam
A particular notice regarding the new rules that Kopitiam or Foodfare will be adhering to in light of the eased restrictions had been making its rounds on Facebook.
The uploader, who came across the notice pasted outside one of the food court’s outlets, sought for clarification about the amount of diners who were able to dine-in together.
On the notice, it stated that as part of the new regulations come 10 Aug, they will only be accepting groups of up to two fully vaccinated people to dine in.
Which, as expected, caused a lot of netizens to leave comments as to whether they thought the group size stated on the notice was correct or not.
Some reasoned that food courts and coffee shops were the same, and thus it was right that they said they would only accept groups of two diners.
Others didn’t agree with this fact and held that food courts should have the same cap on groups of up to five people as restaurants.
Food Courts To Actually Allow Five People
Well, food courts and coffee shops are separate establishments, people – for food courts are actually air-conditioned, like most restaurants.
According to Mothership, Kopitiam / Foodfare has since clarified that they would be allowing groups of up to five fully vaccinated people to dine in.
The notice was actually just a “miscommunication” that had been mistakenly put up at four of their outlets islandwide, which have since been replaced with the correct information.
Of course, this also means that patrons who are not fully vaccinated would not be allowed to dine in at these food courts.
Kopitiam’s standard operating procedure, as reported by The Straits Times, appears to be that diners would have to queue outside the food court to first have their vaccination statuses checked.
If they are fully vaccinated, they will then receive a sticker to identify them, and then let into the food court to dine in.
Patrons who are not fully vaccinated and without a sticker can only take away their food.
Many customers had to be turned away from dining in as they were not clear about the restrictions of having to be fully vaccinated, thinking that food courts would have the same restrictions as coffee shops.
Now that you know the difference, make sure to plan your meals out accordingly.
Read Also:
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Featured Image: Sorbis / Shutterstock.com
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