Dining, social gathering rules relaxed to allow groups of 5 from Nov 22; JSS support tapered to 10%
GROUPS of up to 5 fully vaccinated people will be allowed to dine out together at food and beverage (F&B) establishments from Nov 22, even if they are not from the same household, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Saturday (Nov 20).
Social gathering group sizes can also consist of up to 5 people from the current limit of 2 people from Nov 22. Each household will be allowed to have 5 distinct visitors per day, up from the current cap of 2.
This easing comes as Singapore's overall infection numbers and hospital situation have "largely stabilised and improved", said MOH.
Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below may be included within the groups of 5 dining together, as long as all these children are from the same household. Medically ineligible people can also be included in such groups of 5, from Dec 1.
Current restrictions only allow groups of up to 5 fully vaccinated people to dine out together if they are from the same household.
Hawker centres and coffee shops must have the ability to check vaccinations if they are to accept diners in groups of 5. The initial batch of hawker centres and coffee shops ready to start such checks will do so from Nov 23, with more coming on board over time.
Dining at hawker centres and coffee shops without such checks, however, will remain restricted to groups of up to 2 fully vaccinated people. And unvaccinated individuals will still not be allowed to dine at F&B outlets.
Local F&B companies polled by The Business Times viewed the latest easing of restrictions as positive for the long-suffering industry.
Anna Lim, chief executive of home-grown restaurant chain The Soup Spoon, said these new rules are "very good news" for the whole F&B industry, especially with the festive season nearing.
"More people want to meet up. They are sick of having food delivered to their homes," said Bernard Tay, managing director at fast casual restaurant Jinjja Chicken.
But Tay expressed concerns about the tapering of government support for the sector.
The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) for F&B establishments will be extended to Dec 19. But the percentage of support will be reduced to 10 per cent from Nov 22, down from 25 per cent currently.
Retail businesses, cinemas, museums, art galleries, historical sites, family entertainment outlets, tourism companies, gyms and fitness studios, and performing arts and arts education entities will also have their JSS allocations tapered to 10 per cent from Nov 22 to Dec 19.
Tay said the move to reduce the JSS allowance for the F&B sector was "too fast", as not all companies would benefit instantly from the easing of restrictions.
F&B companies that rely on patrons from tourism and night entertainment, for instance, are "still some way away from being healthy", said Douglas Foo, founder of F&B group Sakae Holdings, which operates the Sakae Sushi restaurant chain.
"F&B establishments continue to manage the loss of revenue from these important industries," he added.
This sentiment was echoed by Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME). Businesses were hoping for an extension of the JSS for the frontline business sector - which includes the F&B space - to the first quarter of next year, he said. Businesses were also hoping for the JSS to remain at the current level of 25 per cent, or increased to as much as 50 per cent, as "business has been weakening for the whole of this year".
On top of the extended JSS support, there will be a half-month rental waiver for cooked food and market stallholders in centres managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) or NEA-appointed operators.
There will also be payouts from the Covid-19 Driver Relief Fund of S$10 and S$5 per vehicle per day, respectively, for December 2021 and January 2022.
These support measures will cost S$90 million and will be funded from higher-than-expected revenues collected to-date. There will be no further draw on past reserves.
Sakae's Foo hoped the relaxation of rules "will not be only for a short period of time but a stepping stone towards a greater semblance of normalcy", and that the government "will not withdraw the JSS for this sector completely".
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