Updated Advisory for Safe Management Measures at Food & Beverage Establishments

Who Should Know:
Mall developers, building owners, food & beverage business owners

Effective Date:
27 September 2021

This has been superseded by the latest advisory. Please refer to the

Circulars

 page.

1. Singapore entered the Stabilisation Phase on 27 September 2021 to slow down the rate of transmission and protect our healthcare system. The Multi-Ministry Taskforce (MTF) announced a tightening of Safe Management Measures (SMMs) from 27 September through 24 October 2021, to slow down current community transmissions.

2. Food and beverage (F&B) establishments currently in operation must implementSMMs, as required by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and comply with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020. They must also 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.

Latest updates for F&B establishments

3. F&B establishments are allowed to continue food service operations, with the exception of establishments with Pubs, Bars, Nightclubs, Discos and Karaoke SFA license categories or SSIC codes starting with 5613. F&B establishments that are allowed to operate must comply with the following:

   1. From 27 September through 24 October 2021, F&B establishments are only permitted to seat lone individuals or dine-in groups of up to 2 persons, i.e. a decrease from groups of up to 5 persons allowed previously.

4. Vaccinated-differentiated SMMs (VDS)

   1. VDS must continue to be applied to such dine-in groups or individuals¹.

      1. An F&B establishment must only allow dining in for customers who meet any of the following criteria:

         • Be fully vaccinated, i.e. has received the appropriate regimen of World Health Organisation Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) vaccines (e.g. Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna, AstraZeneca-SKBio, Serum Institute of India, Janssen, Sinopharm, Sinovac-CoronaVac) including their respective duration post-vaccination for the vaccine to be fully effective and had their vaccination records ingested in MOH’s national IT systems²; or

         • Have recovered from COVID-19, i.e. less than 270 days of first positive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result obtained in Singapore, and can provide a valid Pre-Event Test (PET) exemption notice for the duration of his/her dine-in³ from an MOH-approved COVID-19 test provider; or

         • Have a valid negative PET result for the duration of his/her dine-in⁴ obtained from an MOH-approved COVID-19 test provider in the past 24 hours.

      2. Children aged 12 years and below who are unvaccinated are eligible for VDS and may be included in the dine-in group of up to 2 persons. If a group comprises 2 such children, both children must be from the same household. F&B establishments are to ensure that there is no mixing or mingling between different groups.

   2. F&B establishments may choose to introduce VDS depending on their operating model, clientele, and ability to check the status of individuals who dine-in. Otherwise, F&B establishments will only be allowed to operate take-away services.

   1. Refer to MOH’s information sheet for more details of the requirements for VDS.

   2. F&B establishments that implement VDS must appoint at least one worker (e.g. supervisor or front-of-house worker) who can conduct the verification checks on the eligibility status of each individual⁵.

   3. The use of the SafeEntry (Business) App is strongly encouraged to facilitate dine-in eligibility checks for both TraceTogether App and Token users. The SafeEntry Gateway Box cannot be used to facilitate these checks.

   4. The F&B establishment must verify that each customer fulfils the eligibility requirements before SafeEntry check-in and allowing the group to dine in their establishments. For the full list of acceptable documents regarding eligibility checks, please refer to https://go.gov.sg/acceptabledocs.
      
      COVID-19 Testing

5. The following applies to the workers of the establishments mentioned below:

   1. By 27 September 2021, all individuals⁶ working at F&B establishments providing dine-in services and all last-mile food delivery personnel must undergo testing once every 7 days using tests such as the antigen rapid test (ART) regardless of their vaccination status, under the regular Fast and Easy Test Rostered Routine Testing (FET RRT) regime. This is to allow for earlier detection and ringfencing of cases, and can be done primarily through Employer Supervised Self-Swabs (ESSS)⁷.

      1. Individuals who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection in the past 270 days are exempted.

      2. Establishments can refer to the following GoBusiness portal link or ESG’s website for more details.

   2. From 1 October 2021, all unvaccinated individuals working in settings with mandatory FET RRT (as per earlier paragraph) have to undergo testing twice a week⁸ using ART to mitigate the risk of transmission to the public, under the “Vaccinate or Regular Test” (VoRT) regime. This can similarly be done through ESSS.

      1. The cost of additional testing required for unvaccinated workers are to be fully borne by workers or the enterprises.

      2. The government will subsidise tests for the small group of individuals who are medically ineligible for vaccines.

      3. Enterprises should refer to the details on VoRT regime on the GoBusiness portal.

      4. All other vaccinated workers must continue with the prevailing FET RRT regime (testing once every 7 days).

   3. The table below provides an overview of FET RRT and VoRT. More details are available at https://enterprisesg.gov.sg/sector-testing.

Alcohol/Entertainment/Events

6. The following measures apply to all F&B establishments:

   1. Sale and consumption of alcohol in all F&B establishments are prohibited after 2230hrs daily⁹. This includes consumption at any outdoor refreshment area and/or tables/chairs¹⁰ 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 customers to consume their alcohol by 2230hrs.

   2. Entertainment at F&B establishments (e.g. live performance¹¹, exhibition or display of gymnastics or acrobatics, lecture, talk or address, recorded music¹², and film/video/TV screening¹³) remain prohibited.

   3. F&B establishments may serve as venues for marriage events¹⁴ and/or work-related events¹⁵ by third parties and are required to comply with the SMMs for these events.

Protocol on handling COVID-19 cases

7. Establishments can reference the following:

   1. For management of potential contacts of positive COVID-19 cases at the workplace, refer to https://www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/requirements-for-safe-management-measures.

   2. For protocol on disinfection for premises visited by positive COVID-19 cases, refer to https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/public-cleanliness/environmental-cleaning-guidelines/guidelines/guidelines-for-environmental-cleaning-and-disinfection.

   3. Refer to https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/covid-faqs/ for other information.

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

8. The following measures apply to all customer-facing operations of F&B establishments:

   1. Queue management

      1. Clearly demarcate queue lines, put up signage to guide customers on where to queue to order and collect food, and ensure at least one-metre spacing between individual 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 customers (e.g. remove seats that are too close to the queue if required).

      2. Demarcate a waiting area for customers and delivery personnel to pick up their food.

      3. Implement pre-ordering and pre-payment solutions where possible to minimise physical clustering of customers waiting to place or pick up their orders.

      4. Encourage the use of self-checkouts, cashless or contactless payment methods to reduce contact between workers and customers.

      5. Implement contactless pick-up for food delivery orders where possible to minimise interactions.

      6. Ensure that customers and delivery personnel observe at least one-metre spacing at all times and do not cluster together.

   2. Table and seating management

      1. Each dining-in group must be limited to no more than 2 persons.

      2. F&B establishments must ensure that a safe distance of at least one metre is maintained between groups of up to 2 customers to mitigate the risk of transmission. This refers to the distance between the edges of every group or person. In addition, F&B establishments must ensure that the furniture is arranged in such a way to facilitate safe distancing between groups – for example, the distance measured between the backs of chairs used by customers in different groups, or the legs of chairs if there is no back, must also be at least one metre apart¹⁶. Refer to https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/covid-19/safe-distance for the infographic on SMMs.

      3. F&B establishments should not accept reservations or walk-ins, or allow in their premises social gatherings with more than 2 persons, even if they are split across multiple tables. Exceptions 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 2 persons per table, and with at least one-metre spacing maintained between these groups. F&B establishments are required to verify customers’ claims that they are from the same household, and can reject entry of customers at their discretion. There must be no mixing or intermingling between groups.

      4. Where tables/seats are fixed, tables/seats should be marked out to accommodate groups of no more than 2 persons, while ensuring at least one-metre spacing between groups.

      5. F&B establishments must ensure that customers are not sitting or standing within 0.5 metres of the common boundary¹⁷ between adjoining F&B premises unless there is a floor-to-ceiling, non-porous partition or wall separating the establishments.

      6. Self-service buffet lines are not allowed¹⁸. Food lines where diners can queue and be served by F&B workers are allowed with the necessary measures in place (see paragraph 8.f.).

   3. Entertainment and music

      1. Radio broadcasts, live performance¹⁹, exhibition or display of gymnastics or acrobatics, lecture, talk or address and all forms of film/video/TV screenings²⁰ and the provision or allowance of other forms of public entertainment activities such as live music, dancing, variety acts and singing (by workers or customers), amusement devices, darts, billiards, pool, snooker, karaoke, gambling and/or gaming instruments (e.g. dice, mahjong tiles, playing cards)²¹ in the F&B premises are not permitted. F&B operators should also make clear to customers, for instance, that singing songs, including birthday songs, is not permitted.

      2. F&B establishments are also not allowed to play any form of recorded music or sounds, including background music. Emphatic toasting with food or drinks is disallowed, by both workers and customers. Operators should also ensure that their workers refrain from conduct that could encourage customers to make emphatic toasts.

      3. Operators of common play areas for children/toddlers/infants in F&B establishments²² must ensure at least one-metre spacing between groups of customers.

   4. Contact tracing

      1. F&B establishments²³ must implement SafeEntry via TraceTogether-only SafeEntry (TT-only SE) for dine-in customers and visitors²⁴.

      2. F&B establishments required to deploy SafeEntry for customers and visitors need to provide the SafeEntry Gateway²⁵ (SEGW) as an additional option for SafeEntry check-in. SEGW is available as a feature within the SafeEntry (Business) App (updated to the latest version) and as a physical standalone device (SEGW Box). Do note that the SEGW Box cannot be used to facilitate the eligibility checks for the VDS.

      3. To facilitate more precise contact tracing efforts, SafeEntry check-out is also encouraged. Businesses can facilitate check-out for their customers by toggling to the SEGW check-out function within the SafeEntry (Business) App. Businesses with a higher throughput of visitors and places where people are likely to be in close proximity for prolonged periods with masks off will also be eligible for SEGW Check-out Boxes²⁶.

      4. Refer to www.safeentry.gov.sg for more details on SafeEntry Check-in.

   5. Cleanliness and hygiene

      1. F&B establishments must ensure that all workers, delivery personnel and other onsite personnel wear their masks properly at all times. Workers who eat or drink onsite must wear their masks immediately after doing so. Establishments should also ensure that on-site customers wear their masks before food is served and immediately after their meals, as well as when customers 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. tablets, smart kiosks) as well as play areas for children/toddlers/infants are frequently cleaned/disinfected.

      3. Communal amenities for self-service (e.g. drink dispensers and condiment stations) must not be used²⁷.

      4. Self-service food samples are not allowed.

      5. Hand sanitisers should be made available to workers and customers at common touchpoints (e.g. entry/exit doors, cashiers). Workers handling cash and other payment modes (e.g. credit cards) should clean or sanitise their hands before handling food and food packaging.

   6. Food lines served by workers²⁸

      1. F&B establishments must cover food at the food lines with shields or other forms of barriers to minimise exposure and mitigate food contamination risk.

      2. Workers must pick the food for customers, and ensure that customers do not have contact with the food line.

      3. Workers must not handle food with bare hands. They must use a clean fork, tongs, scoop or other suitable utensil²⁹.

      4. Workers must ensure that individuals queuing for food have their masks on at all times and maintain a safe distance of one-metre between individuals.

      5. These would be on top of the existing additional SMMs that are mandated at work-related events and MICE events. For instance, each food line must not be used to serve participants from different zones at the same time. Separate food lines must be set up for each zone, where practicable. Please refer to the Safe Business Events Framework for details.

   7. Ventilation and improving indoor air quality

      1. F&B establishments are strongly encouraged to improve ventilation and improve indoor air quality in all premises. They may wish to refer to the Guidance Note on improving ventilation and indoor air quality in buildings issued by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), National Environment Agency (NEA) and Ministry of Health (MOH)³⁰.

9. 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 SMMs.

10. F&B establishments should allow customers to use their own clean and reusable containers when ordering takeaways. This will help to reduce the amount of waste generated and ease the demand for disposable food containers.

11. Refer to Annex B [PDF, 68KB] for other recommended guidelines.

Safe Management Measures – Workplace Premises³¹/Back of House/Kitchen

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

13. Enterprises must ensure no cross-deployment across worksites³², i.e. no worker should work at more than one worksite.

    1. If cross-deployment cannot be avoided (e.g. due to the nature of the job), additional safeguards must be taken to minimise the risk of cross infection³³.

    2. For venues that have been visited by positive COVID-19 cases and asked to close by MOH, workers should not be redeployed to other worksites at all for the period of closure. If instructed to go for swabs, enterprises must ensure that their workers from these venues visit the designated Regional Screening Centre, “Swab and Send Home” (SASH) Public Health Preparedness Clinics or mobile swab sites for the COVID-19 test offered by MOH. These workers should stay at home and minimise social interactions during the period of closure even if their swab results are negative. They should also monitor their health closely, and visit a doctor immediately if unwell.

Enforcement of measures

14. Government agencies will be stepping up enforcement on F&B establishments and will take firm action against any breaches, including failure to maintain the one-metre safe distancing between groups and to prevent intermingling of groups, allowing group sizes above permissible limits, serving and allowing the consumption of alcohol after 2230hrs, and providing entertainment and games.

15. Under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, 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.

16. Businesses that do not implement or comply with the government’s requirements on SMMs may also be ineligible for government grants, loans, tax rebates and other assistance, and may also be subject to temporary closures.
    
    Annex A [PDF, 67KB]: SMMs for work-related events
    Annex B [PDF, 68KB]: Other recommended guidelines for customer-facing operations
     

Thank You.

ENTERPRISE SINGAPORE
HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT BOARD
SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD
URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

Updated as of 13 October 2021

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¹From 13 October 2021, the National Environment Agency and the Singapore Food Agency are expanding the SMMs at hawker centres and coffeeshops to include VDS. These premises are to refer to the NEA-SFA Media Advisory on VDS.

²Please refer to MOH’s Post Vaccination Matters website for more information.

³Recovered individuals can obtain a PET Exemption Notice from any clinic offering ART or PCR testing services. Refer to go.gov.sg/swabproviders for the list of MOH-approved COVID-19 test providers.

⁴Unvaccinated individuals aged 13 or above must have a valid negative ART or PCR result from an MOH-approved COVID-19 test provider within the last 24 hours. Refer to go.gov.sg/swabproviders for the list of MOH-approved COVID-19 test providers. Self-administered ART supervised by employer and self-administered ART results are not recognised for vaccination-differentiated SMMs.

⁵F&B establishments in malls must continue to conduct VDS checks on customers, even after VDS is implemented for entry into malls.

⁶This refers to all workers who work under an Enterprise’s direction, including part-time and full-time workers, third-party contracted workers, and all other workers who work on the premises, e.g. cleaners, contractors, subcontractors.

⁷SFA has sent out notices to relevant F&B licensees required to conduct FET for their workers.

⁸A test done under the existing FET RRT, which is a supervised FET, also counts towards this requirement.

⁹This includes consumption by all individuals (such as customers, staff and vendors) within the F&B establishment.

¹⁰The furniture should be kept/secured after close of business in such manner to prevent use.

¹¹“Live performance” includes a performance (including an improvisation) of a dramatic work or musical work; reading, recitation or delivery of a literary work; a dance performance (including a weapon dance); a performance of a circus act or variety act or similar; a legerdemain or magic performance; a performance of an expression of folklore; a live art performance, etc.

¹²This includes any playing of music, singing, lecture, talk or address or any other content (whether or not pre-recorded), which is likely to be audible to customers in or around the F&B establishment.

¹³This includes any display or exhibition (whether on a television or other screen) of any film or video recording, any television programme, any live streamed performance, exhibition or display of gymnastics or acrobatics, lecture, talk or address.

¹⁴Refer to the requirements at the GoBusiness portal for the SMMs on Marriage Solemnisations and Wedding Receptions.

¹⁵Refer to Annex A [PDF, 67 KB] for the SMMs on work-related events.

¹⁶F&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 customers.

¹⁷The common boundary can be demarcated by plants or other vegetation (potted or otherwise), a stanchion with a barrier rope or tape, a wire fence, a divider or furniture, or could refer to an outdoor dining space or a five-foot way or footpath.

¹⁸This also applies to catering companies, where they are not allowed to provide self-service buffet lines. Catering companies should also reference SMMs for MICE, Marriage Solemnisations and Wedding Receptions and work-related events where applicable.

¹⁹Refer to footnote 13.

²⁰Refer to footnote 15. Except 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.

²¹The list of gaming instruments is as stated in the Common Gaming House (Instruments and Appliances for Gaming) Rules.

²²These play areas refer to the facilities provided free-of-charge in the establishments.

²³F&B establishments include food courts.

²⁴All enterprises must require their workers and vendors to do SafeEntry check-in via TT-only SE.

²⁵The SEGW enables contactless detection of both the TraceTogether App and Token, and serves as an additional means of SafeEntry check-in that is quicker and more seamless. It also allows users to check if their Token has run out of battery or is not working.

²⁶Refer to go.gov.sg/gateway-overview for latest details on when the free SEGW Check-out Boxes are available.

²⁷F&B establishments are allowed to place condiments and cutleries at their stall counters, as long as these are within sight of and managed directly by the workers.

²⁸Food lines are not permitted at weddings and funerals. For wedding receptions, F&B must continue to be served to seated customers. For funerals, F&B should not be consumed, with the exception of individually packed drinks and titbits, and individual bento boxes for family members of the deceased who keep vigil for the duration of the funeral wake. There should strictly be no sharing of drinks/ titbits at funerals.

²⁹If the use of suitable utensils is not feasible, staff must wear clean gloves to handle the food. Appropriate hand hygiene practices must be observed; for more information on hand hygiene in food handling, please refer to https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-information/risk-at-a-glance/hand-hygiene-in-food-handling.

³⁰This Guidance Note provides building owners and facilities managers with updated recommended measures to enhance ventilation and air quality in indoor spaces. Refer to BCA’s website for the note.

³¹Refers to the F&B establishments’ back-of-house operations involving workers, including at offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

³²This will not apply to industries/companies that need to do so due to the nature of their work. Such companies will be required to demonstrate that cross-deployment or interaction between workers is critical for business operations, when requested by MOM or their sector agencies.

³³E.g. systems are in place to ensure no direct contact between the cross-deployed personnel.

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