Dining-in group size limit expected to increase to five from July 12

THE government expects to raise the maximum group size for dining in at food and beverage (F&B) outlets to five people from July 12, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament on Monday.

This comes about two weeks after the government eased restrictions to allow dining-in at eateries in groups of two people and group gatherings of up to five people.

Restrictions - including a ban on dining-in and reducing the permissible size of group gatherings from five to two people - were implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19. These rules took effect from May 16 to June 13, and were subsequently extended to June 20.

The measures were aimed at reducing transmission risks in indoor settings where people do not have their masks on, and where there is a higher chance of large clusters forming. These included dining-in at F&B, gyms and fitness centres, as well as live arts and cultural performances.

Mr Wong said that the latest round of outbreaks did not warrant an economy-wide "circuit breaker" like last year. Instead, measures were "calibrated based on the severity of the outbreaks".

"These additional measures have worked in curbing the spread of the virus, while allowing most parts of the economy to continue operating," he said.

The measures were announced following an emergence of new clusters, most notably at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Changi Airport, and a sustained increase in unlinked community cases.

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