Advisory on COVID-19 for businesses

We advise all businesses to refer to the Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) websites for the latest updates.

To provide a safe environment for customers and workers, all businesses must continue to implement Safe Management Measures as required by the MOM and comply with the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations.

To check if your business is allowed to operate physically onsite, please refer to covid.gobusiness.gov.sg/permittedlist.

In settings run by permitted businesses, each group must be limited to two or fewer persons, with at least 1m spacing between groups. All activities remain subject to overall Safe Management Measures.

All businesses must comply with the general requirements for Safe Management Measures, and any sector-specific requirements which apply to them. Strict checks will be conducted, and businesses that do not provide a safe workplace for workers will have their operations suspended until they are able to do so.

On top of the above mandatory measures, to further safeguard the health of employees and customers, companies are advised to observe the additional Safe Management Measures:

• [Test] Place employees on regular testing using alternative tests
• [Trace] Manage COVID-19 cases proactively
• [Vaccinate] Encourage your workers to be vaccinated as soon as it’s made available to them
• Enforce mask discipline
• Avoid workplace gatherings
• Ventilate your workplace

Work-from-home remains the default arrangement. Employers must ensure that employees who are able to work from home do so. Employees unable to work from home due may continue work onsite but employers must ensure adequate Safe Management Measures are in place. These measures include the following:

• Companies should continue to stagger start times and implement flexible working hours;
• Restrictions against cross-deployment across workplaces remain in place;
• Masks must be worn in the workplace at all times;
• Social and recreational gatherings at the workplace will be disallowed and work-related events (e.g. product launches, townhalls) should continue to not serve food and drinks.

Reversion to Safe Management Measures for Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) from 22 July 2021 through 18 August 2021

In view of the emergence of several clusters and growing number of community cases, the Government will be tightening community Safe Management Measures. These will take effect from 22 July 2021 through 18 August 2021 (inclusive of both dates) and will supersede measures that were earlier introduced on 19 July 2021. The Government will review the measures two weeks after implementation, and further adjust based on the infection situation then.

Permissible Group Sizes

Group sizes for social gatherings will be reduced to a maximum of two persons from a maximum of five persons. Households can only receive up to two distinct visitors per day. All should continue to limit their overall number of social gatherings to not more than two per day – whether to another household, or meeting with friends and family members in a public place.

Mask-off Activities

To reduce the risks of community transmission, both indoor and outdoor dine-in food & beverage (F&B) establishments (including hawker centres and food courts) will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery options. Dining in will not be allowed.

Strenuous indoor exercise classes, as well as strenuous individual and group indoor sports and exercise activities, will also cease.

Personalised services which require masks to be removed (e.g. facials, saunas, make-up services), singing, and the playing of instruments that require intentional expulsion of air (e.g. wind or brass instruments) will also not be allowed.

Medical and dental consultations that require patients to have their masks removed are exempted from these restrictions, and may continue. Non-medical facial treatments are not exempted from these restrictions.

Staff who work at settings with unmasked clients/patrons and were placed on mandatory regular Fast and Easy Test (FET) regimes beginning from mid-July, will not be required to undergo FET during this period if business operations at their workplaces are suspended.

For businesses that continue to remain open (including F&B outlets that stay open for delivery/ takeaways), staff must continue with the regular 14-day FET requirement. Such regular FET will continue to be made free of charge during this period.

Shopping Malls and Showrooms

The occupancy limits for shopping malls and showrooms will be reduced from the current limit of 10sqm per person of Gross Floor Area, to 16sqm per person.

Live Performances and Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) Activities

Up to 100 persons may be allowed with Pre-Event Testing (PET), and up to 50 persons may be allowed without PET. Unmasking is not allowed for speakers and performers, and there should be no singing or playing of instruments that require intentional expulsion of air (e.g. wind and brass instruments).

Attractions and Shows

The operating capacity of attractions that have received MTI’s prior approval will be reduced to 25% from the current permissible capacity of 50%. Indoor and outdoor shows may proceed with up to 100 persons with PET, and up to 50 persons without PET.

Spectator and Participatory Sports Events

These may proceed with up to 100 persons with PET, and up to 50 persons without PET. Further details will be issued by SportSG.

Cinemas

Up to 100 persons may be allowed into cinema halls with PET implemented. Up to 50 persons may be allowed without PET. The prevailing group size of two persons applies. Food and beverages may not be sold or consumed in cinemas.

Marriage Solemnisations and Wedding Receptions

Marriage solemnisations may continue for up to 100 participants with PET, and up to 50 participants without PET. Wedding receptions may be allowed to continue with up to 100 persons with PET for all persons, and with a group size of up to five persons per table. All wedding guests must strictly abide by Safe Management Measures, in particular social distancing and inter-mingling across tables. Unvaccinated individuals are discouraged from attending such events until they are fully vaccinated.

Support for Workers and Businesses

In view of the tightened Safe Management Measures from 22 July 2021 through 18 August 2021, the Government will provide a support package to cushion the impact on workers and businesses. This will include an enhanced Jobs Support Scheme for affected sectors, rental relief for commercial properties, enhanced COVID-19 Driver Relief Fund for taxi and private hire car drivers, support for market and hawker centre stallholders, as well as making the COVID-19 Recovery Grant-Temporary available until end-August. More details on the support package can be found here.

Businesses can also tap the following packages to defray costs of going online:

• Food Delivery Booster Package
• E-Commerce Booster Package

Mandatory Safe Management Measures

We have also released Safe Management Measures for the following sectors. If your business is among the following, please refer to the respective links for the relevant guidelines:

• Food & beverage (F&B) establishments
• Retail establishments and lifestyle-related services
• F&B and online retail delivery

Those who wish to report breaches or poor practices can do so via SnapSAFE – an app that allows the reporting of workplace safety and health issues to MOM.

Business Continuity Plans

All workplaces should update their business continuity plans (BCP), and stay prepared for any increase in community transmission. As the situation is evolving rapidly around the world, we encourage all companies to have their BCP in place.

We, supported by the Singapore Business Federation, have also enhanced the Business Continuity Guide for Enterprises to support you in developing your plans to deal with COVID-19.

Travel Advisory

Please review work-related travel plans and defer all travel abroad, with the exception of short-term essential business and official travel between selected counterpart countries/regions and Singapore under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL). More details on the RGL can be found here.

You may also find more details on relevant travel advisories/restrictions on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website.

All travellers arriving in Singapore, including residents (Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents) and Long-Term Pass holders (Student’s Pass, Dependent’s Pass, Work Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass Holders) must ensure they fulfil the relevant requirements by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). More details on this can be found here.

All travellers departing Singapore are advised to check the MFA website for the latest travel advisories to other countries/regions, and check with the immigration authority or embassy of the destination country/region on the relevant health requirements imposed on travellers from Singapore. More details on this can be found here.

Precautionary Measures for General Employees

Please remind all employees who are unwell, even with mild flu-like symptoms, should see a doctor immediately. They should not go out into the public for any other purpose, and should not come into close contact with others.

If you employ foreign workers who live in foreign worker dormitories, please ensure the relevant Safe Management Measures are adhered to. You may refer to this list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by the MOM for more information.

Should you become aware that someone at your workplace is a confirmed or suspect case of COVID-19, you are advised to adopt these measures set out by MOM.

You should also carry out a thorough cleaning and disinfecting of that section of the workplace premises exposed to confirmed case(s). Please refer to the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) guidelines for more details.

Regulations under the Infectious Disease Act

The MOH will be promulgating Regulations under the Infectious Diseases Act to give legal force to the Safe Distancing Measures, as well as to provide enhanced penalties for breaches of the SHN. The penalty for an offence under the Regulations, including any SHN breach, would be a fine of less than $10,000 or imprisonment of less than six months or both. In addition, existing levers under the Infectious Diseases Act, including the temporary suspension of operations, may be used against persons and operators found to be non-compliant with the Regulations.

Support for Businesses

The Government has introduced various support measures across different Budgets in response to COVID-19 to help companies and workers weather near-term uncertainties. The latest measures are outlined as follows:

• COVID-19 Resilience Package (Budget 2021)
• Jobs Support Scheme

ESG, together with other Government agencies, has launched initiatives and enhanced existing programmes to provide more support more businesses. For more information, please click here.

The Ministry of Law has introduced the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 to offer relief to businesses and individuals who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, please click here.

As businesses seek to adjust to the changing operating environment, we strongly encourage employers to take a long-term view of their manpower needs. When managing excess manpower, retrenchment should always be the last resort, after other options have been considered and found to be unworkable.

If you have 10 or more employees and have implemented any cost-saving measures that affects your employees’ monthly salaries (including bonuses and increments) during this period, you are required to notify MOM through this online form – within 1 week after implementation. This temporary requirement is in place to encourage responsible implementation of such measures, prevent downstream salary disputes, and allow MOM to monitor the scope and scale of such measures. For more details, please refer to the MOM website.

The Government will continue to work together with tripartite partners to restructure our economy, build new enterprise capabilities, and upskill our workers for the future.

This advisory is based on information updated as of 23 July 2021.