Mystery of Zouk Closure Confirmed: It Had Broken COVID-19 Rules & Was Told to Close

By
Lin Jiawen
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If you’re an avid clubber, you’ve probably heard by now that Zouk will be closed from 1 May to 10 May this year.

And although the closure might have seemed sudden and unexplainable when Zouk first announced it, it’s since revealed the reason why it was made to close its doors for ten days.

According to The Straits Times, the Urban Development Authority (URA) mentioned yesterday (2 May) that Zouk was caught breaching safe management measures (SMMs).

And apart from being ordered to close for 10 days, Singapore’s most iconic nightclub was also fined $1,000.

Based on the URA spokesperson’s statement, Zouk flouted the rules last month on 23 April.

This was when the maximum group of patrons per table was still set at ten people, but Zouk was found admitting a group larger than ten.

Zouk’s Response

As for Zouk, they have since admitted the same thing as well, with a spokesperson telling ST that the club had been forced to close after a case of “intermingling among guests”.

Guests from different tables were found interacting with each other, and were caught by the authorities for doing so.

Zouk also explained that their establishment located at Clarke Quay did not have any security personnel present at that time, and no checks were carried out either as their security team was out on patrol.

However, the spokesperson then affirmed that the company has ramped up their safe distancing measures, and has also increased the amount of security staff by double to make sure that patrons remain safe.

Since 26 April, there has been no limit on the maximum number of patrons per table.

In addition to that, Zouk has since closed off dance areas, as well as checkpoints near the dance floor.

Zouk has also cordoned off dance areas and checkpoints to and from the dance floor.

The spokesperson also highlighted that thus far, there have been no COVID-19 cases or clusters linked to Zouk.

He also affirmed that patron’s safety is the company’s top priority, and that it will continue to cooperate with the authorities.

The Reopening of Nightclubs After Two Years

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, nightlife establishments were finally able to welcome patrons again on 20 April.

As for Zouk, snaking queues of eager clubgoers were seen outside the establishment.

Even though it is allowed to entertain up to 1,500 people (or 75% of its maximum capacity) based on the current COVID-19 SMMs, it has been limiting its nightly crowd size to 500 patrons per night.

Customers will also be required to book tickets online or make reservations in advance.

With their normal operating hours being set as Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10pm to 3am, they suddenly announced on Instagram that they would be closed from 1 to 10 May.

In the meantime, other establishments under Zouk, namely Capital Kitchen, RedTail and Phuture, will continue operations as per usual.

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And Zouk isn’t the only nightclub that was forced to close its doors.

Just last Friday (29 April), the police announced that two other nightlife establishments were made to shut down temporarily after they were caught flouting COVID-19 SMMs.

They were found to have not checked the vaccination statuses of patrons, and did not keep physical interactions between customers and staff to a minimum.

According to ST, Zouk was not one of the two outlets that were mentioned by the police.

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Featured Image: Instagram (@zouksingapore)

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Lin Jiawen
Email: [email protected]