Popular Yishun Porridge Restaurant Hasn’t Resumed Dine-In ‘Coz There’s No One to Ensure People Stay 1m Apart

We’ve heard so many stories about people taking advantage of Phase Two to get back to their normal lives:

#YOLO, right?

But here’s one about a business that didn’t.

Popular Porridge Restaurant Hasn’t Resumed Dine-In ‘Coz There’s No One to Ensure People Stay 1m Apart

This is Sin Heng Kee, a very popular porridge stall located at Blk 101 Yishun Ave 5.

Image: Facebook (Sin Heng Kee Porridge) / Image for illustration purpose only

The shop has been operating in the area for over 10 years and is really popular among the residents there.

When the Circuit Breaker kicked in, Sin Heng Kee had closed for a while before it reopened to lesser demand for their food.

They might’ve entered Phase Two along with the rest of Singapore but according to Lianhe Zaobao, they’re still not allowing dine-in at their stall yet.

The reason? Because they don’t have enough manpower to ensure a 1-metre safe distance between groups of customers.

So for the sake of their employees as well as the customers, they are prepared to make a bit lesser.

Image: Giphy

Of course, there’s also the factor of not getting into trouble with the authorities.

The owner also said that her workers were relieved as well with a smaller crowd to contend with.

Right now, her revenue is only half of what they usually had before the entire Covid-19 pandemic.

Businesses Who Do Not Comply With Covid-19 Regulations May Be Asked To Closed Temporarily

It’s not just individuals who are fined (or worse) for breaking Covid-19 rules.

Businesses have to play their part too if they want to stay open and continue making money.

Both Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) are hard at work inspecting various places to ensure that Covid-19 regulations and safe management measures are kept to.

Businesses which are found to have breached the rules are given composition fines of $1,000.

In the worst-case scenario, they could be made to close down until adequate safe management measures are implemented.

Updated Guidelines For F&B Businesses

In a recent media release, ESG said that not only do F&B businesses have to comply with safe management measures set by the multi-ministry task force, but they also have to comply with guidelines set out by:

  • Enterprise Singapore (ESG)
  • Housing & Development Board (HDB)
  • Singapore Food Agency (SFA)
  • Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
  • Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

The document is 9 pages long, which tells you a lot about how tough F&B businesses are having it now.

Other than covering the guidelines on table and seating management, queue management, crowd management and contact tracing facilitation, they must also adopt extra guidelines provided by the many agencies wherever possible.

You can read it in full here.

Moral of the story? Please don’t do a last-minute cancellation or a no-show when you make a reservation at a restaurant.

They’re already having a tough time, don’t make it harder.

Image: Giphy