All Nightlife Establishments, Including KTV Outlets, Can Fully Reopen From 19 April

In the last COVID-19 press conference, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong had said that despite the easing of restrictions on mass singing, nightlife and KTV establishments aren’t allowed to reopen yet.

He said that these settings have “generally more difficulties complying with the prevailing SMMs (safe management measures)”.

However, they’re looking into it and said that in the coming weeks, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, will provide an update on the reopening of these establishments.

True to his words, today, the two ministries released a joint statement that’ll send cheers all over Singapore.

All Nightlife Establishments, Including KTV Outlets, Can Fully Reopen From 19 April

Lest you’ve forgotten, nightlife establishments, which include KTV outlets, were forced to close since 26 March 2020. Back then, it was the closure of “entertainment venues” which then included cinemas as well, and it was supposed to least for about a month.

But as we all know, it ballooned to two years.

This afternoon (4 April 2022), the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Home Affairs released a joint statement, stating that all nightlife businesses will be permitted to fully reopen from 19 April 2022.

These establishments will be subjected to SMMs imposed on food and beverage (F&B) establishments, retail liquor establishments, and live performances, where applicable, including vaccination-differentiated SMMs (VDS).

However, if you’re looking to dance your night away, you’d need to get used to having your nose being poked again.

For nightlife establishments where dancing among patrons is one of the intended activities (such as nightclubs and discotheques), a negative Antigen Rapid Test (ART) supervised by an MOH-approved test provider, either in-person or remotely, will be required for patrons before entering the premise.

The COVID-19 test will be valid for 24 hours from the time of the test result. The patron must get tested before the start of his/her visit; and at most 24 hours before the end of the attendance at the event or activity.

Group sizes will be capped at the usual 10 per group, and mask-wearing is required indoors but optional outdoors. As usual, there must be a safe distance of at least 1m when mask-off, between individuals or groups.

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There will be a capacity limits of 75% for large settings/events with more than 1,000 pax, which are mask-on and there is no 1m safe distancing, and no capacity limits for smaller settings/events with fewer than 1,000 pax.

The ministries also added that enforcement agencies will also continue to monitor the compliance of these SMMs, and iIn the event of breaches, enforcement actions will be taken under the COVID19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020, and the business will be liable for the issuance of Notice of Composition (NOC) and closure order.

That is of course good news, but for songbirds, do note that Manekineko has closed all its outlets while Teo Heng will now have only three outlets left.

So yes: while we can sing and dance from 19 April 2022, Singapore is now very different.

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