NEWS
SINGAPORE TO BAN ON-PREMISE DINING AND DRINKING IN NEW LOCKDOWN MEASURES
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
14-5-2021
Credit: Siulan Law Mathews
Singapore announced today a fresh round of lockdown measures including banning on-premise service in restaurants and pubs, amid a rise in confirmed COVID cases after months of reporting zero or single-digit cases daily.
The new measures announced by the health ministry, which will be enforced from Sunday to mid June, include also limiting social gatherings to two people.
"This is clearly a setback in our fight against COVID-19," said Lawrence Wong, the minister for education who co-chairs Singapore's coronavirus taskforce.
Working from home will be made the default arrangement under the new measures.
Shopping malls and cinemas will be allowed to keep opening, and events and weddings will continue to take place under some new regulations.
The authorities said they will review the measures after two weeks to assess if adjustments are needed.
Singapore confirmed 24 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases yesterday, which is the highest daily number since mid-September.
Many of these cases are related to a cluster at the Changi Airport.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said given the rising infections it is "very likely" that Singapore would not meet the threshold for a long-delayed Hong Kong travel bubble, which was recently rescheduled to start in late May.
The travel bubble arrangement will allow passengers from both cities to travel to the other side quarantine-free on condition that passengers take repeated COVID tests and returning negative results.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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