Seoul Garden Says They Don’t Allow Groups of More Than 5 & Would Remind Groups Not to Mingle

When a man decides to dine at a restaurant with 12 other members and was subsequently diagnosed with Covid-19, it’s not just him and his family that gets into trouble.

The restaurant, too, wouldn’t escape without some questioning.

Well, after the entire hoo-ha with Singapore’s single community case after 16 days, Seoul Garden has come out to set the record straight.

Here’s what they have to say regarding the recent incident.

Only Found Out Through Media Reports

According to TODAYonline, Seoul Garden’s management allegedly only found out about the confirmed case from media reports.

While the Seoul Garden Group were contacted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the night of 25 Nov, they were told that it was a request for information “as part of contact tracing for a Covid-19 related case”.

It was only on 26 Nov that they found out, from media reports, that a confirmed Covid-19 case has dined at their outlet at Tampines Mall.

Seoul Garden Says They Don’t Allow Groups of More Than 5 & Would Remind Groups Not to Mingle

Mr Garry Lam, the general manager of Seoul Garden Group, emphasised that the restaurant chain does not accept group bookings of more than five.

He also added that their staff were trained to enforce safe management rules and remind customers not to intermingle between tables or with other diners.

On 27 Nov (Friday), the Tampines Mall outlet was closed for cleaning and disinfection, and Lam hopes that customers will have a “peace of mind” when they reopen for business today (28 Nov).

As for why the man was dining with 12 other family members across three tables and mingling with one another, it wasn’t explained.

However, he added that the Seoul Garden Group will be working closely with authorities and government agencies to curb any asymptomatic transmission that may occur.

Experts’ Opinion

According to a recent report by ST, infectious diseases experts in Singapore are not too worried about the single community case.

They are of the opinion that while it might turn into a cluster of cases, it’ll be a small one due to Singapore’s contact-tracing capabilities.

Nonetheless, they hope that this case will be a reminder to people in Singapore to take safe distancing measures and Covid-19 safety measures safely.

Covid-19 is kept low, and not gone, they reminded.

As for the man’s alleged breach of Covid-19 rules, MOH says that they’ll investigate to see if there are any breaches of existing Covid-19 rules.

Chances are, if there are, the man’s going to have to face the music after he’s sufficiently recovered from his bout of the disease.

Image: Everything You Need / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purpose only)