Coronavirus: Singapore’s on-off rules on dining in leave chefs, restaurant owners vexed
- The ban on dine-in comes just a month after it had been allowed again, dealing another blow to a sector that’s struggled to navigate changing rules over the past year
- The health minister says dining in had to be suspended to prevent social gatherings which could ‘turbo charge’ the fishery port cluster which has since spread elsewhere
Faced with a surge of cases from clusters related to karaoke lounges and a fishery port, authorities this week announced tighter controls, including a stoppage of eating at restaurants until August 18.
The dine-in ban, which took effect on Thursday, comes just a month after it had been allowed again, dealing another blow to an industry that for more than a year has struggled to navigate changing rules, policies that eat into their revenue, and tight scrutiny.
“The food and beverage industry is disgusted with this last news,” chef-owner Ryan Clift of Tippling Club said in a WhatsApp message on Thursday.
Restaurants have “now just been bent over by an industry that quite frankly should not exist in a country that prides itself on such high standards and strict regulations”, he said, referring to the karaoke cluster and nightlife establishments’ ability to apply for food and beverage licences in order to continue operating in pandemic times.