Dining-in to resume for fully vaccinated individuals in groups of 5 starting 10 Aug

Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to dine-in at eateries in up to groups of five, starting this coming Tuesday (10 August).

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in a release on Friday evening (6 August) said that the current group limit for social gatherings will also be increased from two to five.

Households will be able to receive five visitors daily, the ministry added.

Those who are unvaccinated should restrict themselves to groups of no more than two people as a means of reducing “the likelihood of transmission and severe infection”, said MOH.

Unvaccinated children aged 12 and below, however, can be included in the aforementioned group of five if they are from the same household, the ministry noted.

Food and beverage (F&B) outlets can only host patrons for dining-in if they are able to ensure that their patrons have been fully vaccinated.

F&B establishments that are not able to ensure this may only operate takeaway and delivery services, said MOH.

For hawker centres and coffee shops, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are allowed to dine-in, but only in group sizes of up to two.

Explaining the rationale behind allowing unvaccinated people to dine-in at hawker centres and coffee shops, MOH said that the two places “provide convenient and affordable food services within the community”.

“As these are open-air and naturally ventilated spaces, we will extend a special concession for both vaccinated and unvaccinated persons to dine in the hawker centres and coffee shops,” said the ministry.

MOH, however, stressed that dining-in remains a high-risk activity, as people are unmasked and sit in close proximity.

Live performances, recorded music and TV screenings will continue to be prohibited, said MOH.

The relaxation on dining-in services will be part of a two-step phase of measures following a mid-point review of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions, depending on whether the COVID-19 situation remains stable in Singapore.

Vaccinated people may soon be allowed to partake in higher-risk activities such as high-intensity sports with masks off, personal care services, and larger events like marriage solemnisations and worship services.

“Unvaccinated individuals with a valid negative pre-event test result or recovered individuals are of similarly lower risk, and may also join in such groups of up to five,” said MOH.

The phase from 10 August will be called the preparatory stage, which will last for around a month until early September when 80 per cent of the population is expected to have been fully vaccinated.

“This is when we will make important adjustments to healthcare protocols, rules on social activities and travel, to prepare ourselves for a transition to a COVID-resilient nation,” said Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung at a press conference by the multi-ministry task force.