In the last press conference by the multi-ministry task force, it was mentioned that Phase 3 is on the way, but nightlife businesses and KTV studios would remain close in the beginning of the new phase.
This means going to KTV studios to sing CNY songs during CNY after listening to countless CNY songs in shopping malls for the CNY vibes wouldn’t be part of 2021.
But there’s now a twist; while the obligatory mask-wearing has made our mouth smell like rotten socks, it turns out that our efforts have borne fruits because clubbing or KTV in CNY 2021 is still possible after all.
Some Nightlife Businesses, Including KTV Studios, Allowed to Reopen Soon With Safety Measures
In a rather surprising announcement, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today (6 November 2020) that a limited number of nightlife establishments, including KTV studios, will be allowed to reopen with COVID-19 safety measures in place under a pilot programme.
But don’t head over to your favourite pub tonight yet.
The pilot programme for pubs and bars will start by December 2020 (note: it’s by, not from, so it might be earlier instead of later) and will last for two months.
For KTV lounges and nightclubs, it’ll begin in January 2021 (once again, note the word used: it’s in, not by), and will last for three months.
And of course, judging from all the pilot programmes we’ve seen so far, if there’s no large clusters, saying “Want chiong tonight?” wouldn’t sound crazy in 2021.
But there are conditions, and the conditions are rather…daunting.
Lots and Lots of Conditions
For a start, do note that this is only for a small number of establishments, and the authorities would be working with various nightlife business associations to identify these lucky businesses (that are still surviving, that is).
The usual rules apply: every patron must wear masks at all times unless they’re eating or drinking, and alcohol cannot be consumed after 10:30pm.
It must be fun drinking Coke in a pub at 12am.
Now, you’d realise that bars and pubs can reopen earlier than clubs and KTVs, and there’s a reason for that.
Nightclubs and KTV lounges need more time to prepare as they have even stricter requirements: patrons must be tested negative for COVID-19 24 hours prior to the end of the activity at the nightlife establishment.
The tests must either be a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or an antigen rapid test (ART).
The businesses can set up the test on their site, or patrons can test at clinics before heading to the establishments.
2020: When everyone avoid going to clinics for fear of COVID-19 tests
2021: When everyone flood clinics to test for COVID-19 so that they can sing some Jay Chou songs that night
The reason for this reopening?
The ministries said in their joint statement, “The Government has been in close consultation with the nightlife industry to understand their concerns and has agreed to allow a limited number of nightlife establishments to reopen as pilots with stringent safe management measures.”
But what about nightlife businesses that can’t reopen?
After all, remember: we’re talking about just a small number of business.
Help for the Industry
Earlier, the authorities have mentioned that they’ll help these businesses, and more information has been revealed, too.
Other than the usual Job Support Scheme and whatnot, they’re looking to let them transform into other businesses, like F&B businesses, easier.
Or in their own words, “MTI has worked with regulatory agencies, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), to simplify the application process for nightlife establishments looking to pivot to F&B operations.
“Applications to pivot to alternative commercial uses apart from F&B, such as offices or gyms, will also be assessed by the relevant agencies on a case-by-case basis.”
If that’s confusing, just think Zouk; it’s now an atas cinema and fitness studio.
So the authorities are simplifying the transition, because not every business is like Zouk.
Other than that, these businesses that want to “transform” into other businesses can apply for a grant of up to S$50,000 from Enterprise Singapore to defray qualifying costs incurred during the pivoting process, such as equipment and third-party consultancy costs.
But if these businesses still didn’t want to transform, their funerals will be…erm, paid for.
They can apply for an ex-gratia payment of S$30,000 to defray the costs of the cessation of business. In other words, get some grant to get out of the business, because you can’t just abandon a business without some tears. Just ask Robinsons.
Of course, a business can only apply for one of the grants (either transform or exit), and if they receive any of these grants, they cannot go back to the nightlife business for at least 12 months.
In other words, in the next few months, we’d be seeing more people out of job and more nightlife establishments turning to selling burgers or simply disappearing altogether.
But at least we can sing CNY songs during CNY in a KTV room next year.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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