MSE suspends nightlife spots that shifted to F&B until end-July

They can only resume operations once they pass inspection and get approval from the Singapore Food Agency.

Nightlife establishments that were allowed to pivot to food and beverage (F&B) operations from October 2020 are required to suspend their operations from 16 to 30 July to ensure safety from COVID-19.

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said the suspension of operations, as announced by the Multi-Ministry Task Force, is intended to “break community transmission” from the latest cluster of cases that involved nightlife establishments.

This will allow all employees of the nightlife establishments to be tested and for enforcement agencies to check and ensure compliance to the Safe Management Measures (SMM) such as following prevailing group size limits, one metre apart seats, no intermingling between customer and staff, no singing, playing of loud music and other form of entertainments, and having Safe Entry Gateway check-in boxes for entry and exit for contact tracing.

“Outlets will only be allowed to resume operations after 30 July 2021 if they pass the inspection and receive approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to resume operations,” the Ministry said in a statement dated 16 July, noting that these requirements include PCR testing of employees and having checked by agencies and complying with SMM protocols.

“All pivoted nightlife establishments must comply strictly with this suspension. Any outlet found to be operating during this period will face firm enforcement action, including prosecution and the permanent cancellation of licences for food, public entertainment, and liquor,” it added.

The Ministry said the SFA will be reaching out to the affected operators.

It also said that applications from nightlife operators seeking to shift to F&B establishments will be suspended immediately for three months, pending further review, following the SMM breaches by a number of pivoted nightlife operators.

The government will continue to review enforcement efforts on F&B outlets to ensure they strictly adhere to SMM protocols, according to the Ministry, adding that agencies “will not hesitate to take firm enforcement action against operators and individuals who flout SMMs.”

It said that three operators had their licenses revoked due to violations of protocols.