1. The Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) announced on 14 December that Phase 3 will commence on 28 December 2020, where more activities in the community will resume.


2. To provide a safe environment for customers and workers, food and beverage (F&B) establishments currently in operation must implement Safe Management Measures (SMMs), as required by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and comply with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations.


3. In addition, F&B establishments are required to comply with the measures set out by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), Housing & Development Board (HDB), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in this document. The information in this document supersedes that in previous advisories or statements.



Phase 3 updates for F&B establishments

4. F&B establishments are to note the following:
   
   
   1. With effect from 28 December 2020, social gatherings are allowed to comprise up to 8 persons, an increase from 5 persons. F&B establishments are correspondingly permitted to seat dining groups of up to 8 persons.
   2. In the first half of 2021, TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will be introduced at F&B establishments. Before TraceTogether-only SafeEntry is introduced, F&B establishments should implement Token check-in mode which allows the scanning of TraceTogether Tokens for SafeEntry check-in (see paragraph 6d for details).

   Resumption of food service operations

5. F&B establishments can provide dine-in services, with the exception of establishments with Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs and Discos SFA license categories or SSIC codes starting with 5613.
   
   
   1. Sale and consumption of alcohol in all F&B establishments are prohibited after 2230hrs daily. This includes consumption at any outdoor refreshment area and/or tables/chairs¹ owned or managed by such establishment. As a best practice, by around 2200hrs, F&B operators should cease the sale of alcohol as a dine-in service and remind patrons to consumer their alcohol by 2230hrs.
   2. F&B establishments may provide their venue for wedding receptions and solemnisations, as well as work-related events by third parties; they are required to comply with the SMMs for these events². Whilst F&B establishments may host wedding solemnisations, no food or beverages may be served during the solemnisation. Any meal following the solemnisation involving more than 8 persons will be considered a reception. F&B establishments are reminded that a wedding couple is only allowed to hold one reception.
   
   

   Work-related events

   3. Business-focused work-related events (both non customer-facing and customer-facing³) can be held within the workplace premise and third-party venues. Existing guidelines on the respective event venues will apply.
   
   
   1. Non customer-facing events:
   • Events held in F&B establishments are subject to a cap of 50 persons or a lower number, depending on venue capacity and safe distancing requirements.
   • At least one-metre spacing between individuals must be maintained at all times.
   • Meals should not be the main feature. Food and drinks, if provided, must be served to seated diners individually. Meal durations should be kept short to minimise the period that individuals are unmasked.
   • Prevailing SMMs as indicated in MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the workplace⁴ continue to apply.
   2. Customer-facing events:
   • Events organised by F&B establishments within their own F&B premises are subject to the maximum number of individuals that the venue may accommodate after safe distancing measures are adhered to.
   • Events organised by external parties at F&B establishments (where the F&B premises now function as a third-party venue) are subject to a cap of 50 persons (excluding service staff) or a lower number, depending on venue capacity and safe distancing requirements. Meals should not be the main feature. Food and drinks, if provided, must be served to seated diners individually. Meal durations should be kept short to minimise the period that individuals are unmasked.
   • Each group must be limited to 8 or fewer persons, with at least one-metre spacing between groups.
   • Food fairs are not permitted.
   3. Such events are still not permitted at public and common areas such as mall atriums, public transport nodes, HDB estates and common corridors.
   4. Enterprise events are only allowed for work-related reasons. Those that are social or recreational in nature (e.g. Dinner & Dance) are not allowed.

   Safe Management Measures – Customer-facing Operations/Front-of-house

6. The following measures apply to all customer-facing operations of F&B establishments:
   
   
   1. Queue management
   1. F&B establishments are to clearly demarcate queue lines and must ensure at least one-metre spacing between customers at areas such as entrances and cashier counters (e.g. through floor markers). One-metre spacing must also be maintained between queues and seated diners.
   2. Table and seating management
   1. Each group must be limited to 8 or fewer persons, with at least one-metre spacing between groups⁵. Except for solemnisations, wedding receptions and work-related events, F&B establishments should not accept reservations or walk-ins for groups with more than 8 persons, even if they are split across multiple tables⁶. There should be no mixing or intermingling between groups.
   2. Where tables/seats are fixed, tables/seats should be marked out to accommodate groups of no more than 8, while ensuring at least one-metre spacing between groups.
   3. Self-service buffet lines are not allowed⁷.
   3. Crowd management
   1. Live music, radio broadcasts, all forms of television/video screenings⁸ and other forms of public entertainment⁹ such as dancing and singing (by both employees and customers), darts, karaoke, billiard, pool and snooker in the F&B premises are not allowed. F&B operators should undertake measures to make clear to customers, for instance, that performing songs, including birthday songs, is not permitted. Operators that allow customers to perform risk enforcement action.
   2. Recorded music, speech and sounds may be played, but only as soft background music. This must not be louder than 60 decibels. As a gauge, this would be the sound level for a regular conversation.
   3. Emphatic toasting with food or drinks is also disallowed, by both employees and customers. Operators should also ensure that their employees refrain from conduct that could encourage customers to make emphatic verbal toasts, as the latter would put operators at risk of enforcement action.
   4. Operators of common play areas for children/toddlers/infants in F&B establishments¹⁰ must ensure at least one-metre spacing between groups of patrons.
   4. Contact tracing
   1. SafeEntry¹¹ check-in today can be done by the following modes, scanning of the SafeEntry QR code using a QR code scanner on a smartphone, using SingPass Mobile App, using the TraceTogether App or presenting the TraceTogether Token or NRIC/FIN for scanning. While all these modes of check-in are still acceptable, F&B establishments should implement Token check-in mode which allows the scanning of TraceTogether Tokens for SafeEntry check-in¹². Businesses that already accept NRIC/FIN for check-in will also be able to accept Token for check-in if they are already using the smartphone loaded with the SafeEntry (Business) App setup, or the laptop and scanner setup, if the scanner can scan barcode and QR code.
   2. For avoidance of doubt, TraceTogether Token check-in is not the same as TraceTogether-only SafeEntry. The former refers to the mode of check-in¹³, while the latter refers to the overall programme which will permit only TraceTogether modes of check-in (for which either the TraceTogether App or Token will be valid). We have yet to implement TraceTogether-only SafeEntry for F&B establishments.
   3. Those that only provide takeaway and/or delivery, with no dine-in services, are not required to do so.
   5. Health checks
   1. F&B establishments must conduct temperature screening¹⁴ and checks on visible symptoms¹⁵ for customers at entrances, and advise those with fever and/or who appear unwell to visit a doctor before turning them away. Those that only provide takeaway and/or delivery are not required to do so.
   6. Cleanliness and hygiene
   1. F&B establishments must ensure that all employees, customers, delivery personnel and other onsite personnel put on their masks properly at all times, except when eating and drinking. F&B establishments must also ensure that on-site diners do so before food is served and immediately after their meals, as well as when diners move around the establishment.
   2. F&B establishments must ensure that common spaces and items, high-touch surfaces (e.g. counters, menus), interactive components (e.g. iPads, smart kiosks), as well as play areas for children/toddlers/infants are frequently cleaned/disinfected.
   3. Any communal amenities (e.g. drink dispensers and common condiments) must not be used. Self-service food samples must not be provided.
7. F&B establishments should put up clear signages to remind customers to comply with safe distancing requirements where applicable, and train and deploy service personnel to provide clear communication to customers on safe distancing measures.


8. Refer to Annex A [PDF, 23KB] for other recommended guidelines.



Safe Management Measures – Workplace Premises¹⁶/Back of House/Kitchen

9. To ensure COVID-safe workplaces, F&B establishments should take care of their workers, workplaces and those who may become unwell at their workplaces, as outlined in MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the workplace.  


10. For non-customer-facing work-related events, food and drinks should preferably not be served or consumed. If deemed necessary for food and drinks to be provided, attendees must be seated one metre apart, served individually, and should minimise contact with one another while unmasked. Prevailing SMMs as indicated in MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the workplace¹⁷ continue to apply.



Enforcement of measures

11. Government agencies will be conducting inspections to check on the proper implementation of the SMMs. Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act passed in Parliament on 7 April 2020, first-time offenders will face a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Subsequent offences may face a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment of up to twelve months, or both.


12. Businesses that do not implement or comply with the government’s requirements on SMMs may be ineligible for government grants, loans, tax rebates and other assistance, and may also be subject to temporary closures.
 

Annex B [PDF, 64KB]: Business-related activities during Chinese New Year (CNY)
Annex C [PDF, 64KB]: Checklist of Safe Management Measures (customer-facing operations)

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¹The furniture should be kept/secured after close of business in such manner to prevent use.

²Refer to the advisory at the GoBusiness portal for the SMMs on Marriage Solemnisations and Wedding Receptions.

³Non customer-facing events include conferences, seminars, corporate retreats, etc, while customer-facing events include product launches, F&B establishment openings, marketing/branding events, workshops etc. Events that are substantially recreational or social in nature (e.g. gala dinners, networking functions, company D&Ds) are not permitted.

⁴Refer to MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the Workplace.

⁵F&B establishments may use the bar counters to seat and serve meals to dine-in customers, but must ensure there is at least one-metre spacing between groups of diners.

⁶Exceptions can only be made if all members of the group are from the same household, i.e. have the same place of residence (families living in different places of residence are not from the same household). However, they will need to be seated at multiple tables, with no more than 8 persons per table, and with at least one metre spacing maintained between these groups. Establishments are required to verify diners’ claims that they are from the same household, and can reject entry of diners at their discretion.

⁷This also applies to catering companies providing meals on other premises. Catering companies should also take reference from the allowable settings for food consumption – MICE, weddings, work-related events.

⁸Except for advisory videos related to safe management measures. Static images and a carousel of static images on a digital screen (e.g. of menus and promotional items) without sound are not considered to be TV/video screenings.

⁹Public Entertainment activities are as defined under the Public Entertainments Act which includes singing or dancing by customers, game machines and any machine or device by the manipulation of which chances are given of obtaining prizes in money or kind.

¹⁰These play areas refer to the facilities provided free-of-charge in the establishments.

¹¹A full list of places where SafeEntry must be deployed can be found at https://www.safeentry.gov.sg/deployment.

¹²TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will only be implemented after everyone has had the chance to collect a Token in their constituencies, and a reasonable period of national distribution is achieved. When TraceTogether-only SafeEntry is implemented, individuals entering premises on TraceTogether-only SafeEntry will have to use either their TraceTogether App or TraceTogether Token to check in. Foreigners who are pass holders can register for the TT app using their FIN and/or collect their TT tokens from designated collection points.

¹³TraceTogether Token check-in is done by premises scanning the QR codes on the TraceTogether Tokens of customers, vendors and visitors. Refer to https://go.gov.sg/token-scanning to find out how to implement Token check-in mode.

¹⁴Individuals with temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius are considered to be having a fever. F&B establishments with seated diners in malls need not conduct temperature screening and checks on visible symptoms for customers if the mall is already doing so. They should however do so, if they operate outside the mall hours.

¹⁵Notable visible symptoms to look out for include: (a) coughing; (b) sneezing; (c) breathlessness; and (d) a runny nose.

¹⁶Refers to the F&B establishments’ back-of-house operations involving employees, including at offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

¹⁷Refer to MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the Workplace.